The national cricketers ended their three-week long fitness camp on Sunday with several players gaining confidence from the training session, which they said would be crucial for them ahead of the busy international and domestic schedule.
The training programme began on June 13 under the supervision of trainer Stuart Karppinen, who used special software to measure the fitness of the players before deciding on his course of action.
The national players were given a few breaks during the training period for recovery purposes after they were made to work extremely hard in the humid conditions. The players said that this was something they had not done for months because of their busy international schedule.
According to pace bowler Mashrafee bin Murtaza and opener Anamul Haque, the camp had already started paying dividends.
‘Though it was hectic, it was still good,’ Mashrafee told reporters. ‘I lost four kilograms of weight during this camp, which is quite an achievement. Right now my weight is 88 kilograms. I am now looking forward to losing another four kilograms, which would be optimum for me considering my height.’
Top-order batsman Anamul echoed Mashrafee’s words.
‘To be honest, it was a new experience for me,’ Anamul said of the rigorous fitness training. ‘During my Under-19 days I also had had a few fitness camps, but none of them was as rigorous as this one,’ said Anamul.
‘It should help the players avoid injuries, which were a major worry in the last two series,’ said Anamul.
The Tigers will return to training on July 14 and are now expected to concentrate on skill training and play some practice matches against some age-level teams that are set to play series abroad.
The Under -19 team is expected to leave on July 28 for England to participate in a Tri-nation tournament involving Pakistan and the hosts.
They are scheduled to face the Pakistan U-19 side on August 5, 11 and 13 while they will face the hosts on August 7, 15 and 17. They will play an additional match if they reach the final.
The members of the Bangladesh A team are expected to join them in England on August 2 for their
bilateral series against England Lions.
The A team, which is expected to be comprised of some senior team members, will play five practice matches and three one-day internationals against England Lions.
The Under-23 team will leave for Singapore on August 15 to play in the Emerging Nations Cup, a one-day tournament which will be held from August 17-26.
The U-23 sides of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will take part in the competition alongside national teams of Afghanistan, Nepal, Singapore and the UAE.
BCB’s cricket operation committee directed the grounds committee to prepare the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium for the practice matches, to be played between different age-level players.
National coach Shane Jurgensen, who is currently holidaying in Australia, is expected to return before the practice matches.
-With New Age input
