Paceman Mashrafee bin Murtaza dismissed any concern about his fitness and said he is eagerly waiting for the Zimbabwe series to make his comeback in international cricket.
Mashrafee, who twisted his ankle during the first one-dayer against New Zealand, recently regained his fitness and declared himself available for the five-match one-day series beginning on December 1.
He, however, took a day to join the Bangladesh team in Chittagong for his wife’s illness. After joining his team-mates on Monday, Mashrafee had a complete practice session at the Chittagong divisional stadium dispelling all doubts about his fitness.
The right-arm pacer is the first choice of the Bangladesh Cricket Board to lead the side against Zimbabwe, but concern about his fitness has left the officials sceptical.
‘I am fully fit and bowled with a full run-up today. Hopefully I will able to bowl as well as I used to in the past,’ Mashrafee told reporters in Chittagong.
The BCB at its meeting on Sunday decided to name the captain after the selectors pick their final squad means Mashrafee will have to wait for a few more days to know his fate.
The performances of pacemen Rubel Hossain and Shafiul Islam against New Zealand also gave the selectors an ample food for thought before risking Mashrafee against Zimbabwe.
The duo took nine wickets between them in the New Zealand series and also gave the side crucial breakthroughs when they needed it most.
They are also under pressure to retain the winning combination, though chief selector Rafiqul Alam said they will wait until Wednesday to make their decision.
‘By Wednesday we will get the players’ fitness reports. Only then we will talk about the team. It will depend on the strength of the Zimbabwe side whether we will retain the winning combination or not,’ said Alam, who is accompanying the Tigers in Chittagong.
Mashrafee warned the side not to take Zimbabwe lightly despite their recent success against New Zealand.
‘New Zealand team had quite a few new players when they came here. But it’s not the case for Zimbabwe. They are playing together for quite some time and can pose a real danger for us,’ said Mashrafee.
