The preparation of the Bangladesh national cricket team ahead of their forthcoming home series against Zimbabwe began with the fitness test at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Saturday.
The Tigers used the newly installed tracks of the BNS as part of their fitness drills, which have been termed 鈥榩hysical performance assessment鈥� and were supervised by national team strength and conditioning coach Nathan Kiely.
This was the first time in 19 years that the BNS was used for any national cricketing activities since the country鈥檚 cricket had moved to the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in 2005.
Aside from experienced campaigners Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, a total of 35 cricketers participated in 1600-metre running. The running was followed by a 40-metre sprint.
The reason for Tamim鈥檚 unavailability was unknown; nevertheless, Shakib couldn鈥檛 join his team-mates as he was with his family in the USA, while Taskin Ahmed did not attend due to fatigue he sustained from playing in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League.
Soumya Sarker was also unable to participate due to the shoulder injury he suffered during the recently concluded home series against Sri Lanka.
Among the 35 cricketers who took part in the fitness session, only Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah had the privilege to play in this ground.
However, the return of cricket to BNS for a short period turned out to be a matter of discussion among the people living close to the stadium, and they eventually gathered in numbers to see the Tigers.
BCB trainer, Iftekharul Islam, said that the overall result was satisfactory, adding that they would make plans for their next course of action based upon the results.
鈥楾he athletic track is not available all the time, so we do it on the field. It was different, and we have not taken this kind of test for a long time. It looked new to them, and as it was new, they will take some time to get over it,鈥� he said.
鈥榃e have opted for the athletic track as there is timing involved. If we want to follow international standards, there are certain testing methods, and today we have taken a 1600-metre time trial. If we do it on the athletic track, the timing is proper. It was new to them, but it was good, he added.
The BCB trainer additionally affirmed that they didn鈥檛 set any criteria for passing or failing in the training.
鈥楬ere is nothing like passing and failing. We want to know about their fitness standards at present because we have some series and domestic tournaments like the BPL and DPL. After knowing their present state, we will plan individual fitness training and execute it,鈥� he said.
Nahid Rana and Tanjim Shakib jointly become first in the 1600-metre running. The series against Zimbabwe is scheduled from May 3-12.