Fitness, performance worries put T20 WC squad in limbo

While the Bangladesh team spent the gap day between the first and second Twenty20 Internationals against Zimbabwe at the team hotel, fast bowling coach Andre Adams and batting coach David Hemp spent a busy day yesterday, gearing up Soumya Sarkar for his return to action post-injury.

Soumya, who is not part of the squad in the first three T20Is of the five-match series, is an important part of Bangladesh's plans in the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup in June and the selectors are eagerly waiting for his return to match fitness following a knee injury he suffered in March.

Soumya arrived at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram at noon, had an extended running session before bowling some medium pacers under the watchful gaze of Adams.

After that, he batted at the nets against throw-downs and some local bowlers, this time Hemp keeping a close eye on his batting. He then moved on to the centre wicket and batted for a while.

The extra emphasis on Soumya shows that the management desperately wants him back in the thick of things ahead of the T20 World Cup and he is almost certain to return to the squad for the final two matches in Dhaka.

"That's the plan he [Soumya] will [play] at some stage during the five-game series. At the moment he will be in rehab," Hemp told the reporters in Chattogram yesterday.

Soumya has already recovered from the knee injury, however, there are still some uncertainty over his fitness.

The Bangladesh selectors have already sent a squad for the T20 World Cup to the ICC before the deadline of May 1, but are yet to disclose it publicly. Soumya is presumably a part of that squad.

As teams are allowed to make changes to the squad till May 25, the selectors are waiting to assess Soumya's fitness and the performance of some other individuals before officially announcing it.

"We already have finalised a squad. That might remain unchanged or we might make one or two alterations on the basis of fitness and performance," chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu told The Daily Star.

It's evident that the chief selector was hinting at Soumya while speaking on the fitness issue and the talk of performance was seemingly hinting at Liton Das.

Liton, who lost his place in the third ODI against Sri Lanka in March after a string of low scores, has been short of runs and confidence in recent times.

The series against Zimbabwe could be the perfect opportunity for the opener to regain his groove as he averages 34.33 at a strike rate of 150.33 against the African side in T20Is.

However, Liton made just one in the first match before getting bowled by an in-swinging delivery from Blessing Muzarabani.

The management still has faith on the right-hander, but if his poor run extends, selectors may be prompted to look at other options for the World Cup.

One of those other options is Tanzid Hasan Tamim, who hit an unbeaten 67 off 47 balls on debut in the first match.

However, the left-hander was fortunate to score those runs as he got dropped thrice – on three, four and 56.

The returning Mohammad Saifuddin also did well with the ball, claiming 3-15 in his four overs and landing his yorkers in the death overs.

But their late inclusion in the mix means the management has no chance of testing them against better oppositions before the World Cup.

After the Zimbabwe series, the Tigers will play three T20Is against the USA and a few warm-up matches before taking on Sri Lanka on June 8 in their tournament opener. Rishad Hossain leaking 37 runs in his four overs in the first match is also a worrying sign for Bangladesh as the leg-spinner will be faced with much greater challenges against better oppositions in the World Cup.