Fans continue to protest
Former skipper Mashrafee bin Murtaza will fly for Sri Lanka today to meet David Young to have his injured knee checked by the Australian orthopaedic surgeon amid continuing protests for his inclusion in the World Cup squad.
He will meet Young, who is a regular visitor to Sri Lanka since the tsunami ravaged the country in December 2004, on Sunday.
The Melbourne-based orthopedic surgeon, who performed several operations on Mashrafee’s both knees, is currently in Sri Lanka to carry out a few operations on the injured under-privileged children at the Karapitiya Hospital in Galle.
Mashrafee spoke to Young on Wednesday, hours after he was discarded from the World Cup squad, and sought his advice. Young asked him to come to Sri Lanka and the paceman made no delay in making up his mind.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board readily approved his visit and bought two air tickets for him to facilitate the visit. National team physiotherapist Michael Henry will likely accompany him.
‘I will examine the former Bangladesh captain in Colombo on Sunday before issuing him a fitness certificate,’ Young was quoted by Daily Mail of Pakistan as saying.
‘Murtaza telephoned me on Wednesday afternoon when he learned about his omission from the World Cup squad. He was very upset and so I suggested him to come to Colombo for further line of action’, Young added.
Meanwhile, the local people of Narail formed a human chain demanding Mashrafee’s inclusion in the World Cup squad, a day after a general strike had been observed in the district town to press home the same demand, reports Bdnews.com.
About one thousand people participated in the human chain at around 11:30am on Friday on the Adalat Road in Narail town.
Following the hour-long human chain, a number of local elite, including sadar upazila chairman Sharif Humayun Kabir, addressed the rally.
At the rally, a symbolic hunger strike was declared for Saturday in the town.
Mashrafee’s fans also formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club on Friday.
Our Barsal correspondent adds: Local cricket fans formed a human chain in Barisal on Friday demanding Mashrafee’s inclusion in the World Cup side.
Around two hundred people participated in the human chain, organised by the Battala Tarun Sangha, in front of the Shaheed Alamgir Hostel of Govt Hatem Ali College in the Nabagram Road area of the city.
Following the hour-long human chain, a number of local elite, including Habibur Rahman Tushar, Mir Hasan Morshed Sumon, Ashrafuzzaman Rakib, Liton Khan, Imran Hasan, Mansurul Islam, Rabiul Islam Sohag and Ziaul Huq Prince, addressed the rally.
