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The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is going to conduct a three-day camp for the national team cricketers before the Zimbabwe series. This camp will start in Chittagong next Friday under the supervision of head coach Chandika Hathurusingh. For this, 17 cricketers have been selected.
Apart from this, the selectors have two more cricketers in mind. The reason for the increased interest surrounding this camp is that the 15-man squad for the World Cup has to be announced by May 1, according to the schedule set by the ICC. After that the squad can be changed without any reason till 25th May. As a result, BCB will have to announce the World Cup squad before the start of the Zimbabwe series. So the pressure of the selectors is a little more.
15 players will be selected from the 17 players who have been called for the camp and a couple of players who are outside. It is said that the best XI or squad is almost ready. The selectors also know who to take. Now only thinking about a couple of last minute positions. If you like a certain person in the camp, if you catch your eye, there will be a change in thinking.
Saif Uddin has been included in the preparation camp team. A pace bowling all-rounder on the national team's radar since October 2022. Parvez Hossain Emon, Afif Hossain and Tanbir Islam have been returned. Apart from this, Tanjid Hasan Tamim is also the regular face of the ODI team. Besides, all the regular cricketers are there. Shakib Al Hasan and Mostafizur Rahman were not kept in this camp. They are considered as automatic choice.
BCB director and Abahani coach Khaled Mahmud Sujan calls this team very balanced and world class. He believes that the cricketers of this team will bring some amazing success to Bangladesh.
Khaled Mahmood told the media at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, 'The team that Lipu brothers (Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu, Chief Selector) has already announced is a great balance team. There may be talk, this is not – there is. All those who are there are performers. They are all good players. I believe these guys have a lot to offer Bangladesh cricket. We just have to be patient. We expect these guys to do amazing things.'
Parvez Hossain Imon caught the attention of the selectors by performing well in the Premier League. He made his debut in the national team in 2022. His way stopped by just 2 runs in a T20 against Zimbabwe. After that, he played the Asia Cup in the country's jersey. Where his runs were zero and 23. The coach wants to see this cricketer who has scored 585 runs in 12 innings in the Premier League for his own interest. Khaled Mahmud is also relying on him, 'We need a cricketer like Eamon in this format as he bats aggressively. If you look at the IPL game, even 230-240 runs are not defensible. But it is happening. For this, in the beginning, explosive batsmen are needed who will score 70-80 runs in 6 overs. Earlier the thought was 40 in 6 overs. But now that benchmark is no more.'
“If you don't go to the World Cup and score close to 200 runs against the opponents you play, you won't survive the match. Good opportunity for such players when they get the opportunity. I think Iman should be given that way. My advice would be to not take any extra pressure even if you play in the national team the way Dhaka played in the league. Play the normal game. I believe he is an explosive batsman. It is important for us if he starts well. With Tanjid Tamim. Tanjid can also be a dangerous cricketer in the short format.'
Khaled Mahmud is optimistic about his full strength in batting, 'Liton is there. A very experienced cricketer. Can meet the demands of any situation. Bad times have passed. That is changing. Good times will return. I hope he will win many matches for Bangladesh in the future. Among the rest, Shant, Tawheed, Mahmudullah, Zaker, Shakib is actually him; They are match winners each. Our batting unit is quite good.'
He is also keeping his bowling forward, 'In bowling we have three pacers Shakib and Saif Uddin. Sheikh Mehdi is a good bowler in this format. There can be a lot of talk about Mirage. I would consider the Mirage a bit unlucky here. The team that the selectors have given is the balance. I am very happy with Rishad. Dhaka will perform very well in the league. I believe Bangladesh will win the match very well if there is this consistency.
