Cricketers to undergo fitness test amid unrest

With a watchful eye on the ongoing unrest in the country, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has decided to go ahead with the previously scheduled physical assessment test of the cricketers in the Test fold at the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) on Saturday.

"We are observing the situation and are in communication with the management. Our prime focus is to ensure everyone's safety, not just the players," BCB cricket operations in-charge Shahriar Nafees told The Daily Star on Friday.

"We will take the final decision after observing the entire day. But as of now, everything is on track," he added.

The players will complete a 1.6km time trial at the BNS between 6:00 AM to 7:30 AM under their strength and conditioning coach Nathan Kiely before moving to the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur for a gym session and other fitness tests, scheduled from 8:30 AM.

Kiely and other coaching staff including head coach Chandika Hathurusingha have already reached Dhaka ahead of the Tigers' preparation camp for their two-match Test series against Pakistan.

Spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed, who will oversee the spinners during the Pakistan series, was the last member of the coaching panel to arrive in the city on Friday night.

The preparation will get underway with the fitness test and the players will begin training in Mirpur on Sunday.

Some members of the Test fold, who recently returned home from their Australia tour with the High Performance Unit where they played two four-day matches against Pakistan Shaheens, will not take the fitness test.

Earlier, several members of the Test fold had played two intra-squad practice matches during their camp in Chattogram last month.

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto missed the practice matches as he travelled to Thailand for a medical check-up while head coach Hathurusingha and some other members of the coaching staff failed to join the side due to travel issues.

The first Test in Rawalpindi will take place on August 21-25 while Karachi will host the second Test on August 30-September 3. The series will be part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle.

The Tigers are expected to fly to Pakistan on August 17.

However, some players like Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque will travel to Pakistan on August 6 as part of the Bangladesh A team to feature in their opening four-day game against their Pakistani counterparts, scheduled on August 10-13.