‘Mentally devastated’ Saifuddin requests two-month break

All-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin has withdrawn himself from the upcoming Bangladesh 'A' team's tour of Pakistan, saying he has been feeling 'mentally devastated' and requesting a two-month break from all cricketing activities.

Saifuddin, who was picked for the second four-day match of a two-match series and the following three-match one-day series against Pakistan 'A', expressed his desire to take a break through an email to the selectors earlier this month, informed a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official to The Daily Star on Wednesday.

In the email, he informed that he was devastated over not being picked for the ICC T20 World Cup squad in June, coupled with the fact that he could not fly to Canada to feature in the ongoing Global T20 due to the ongoing unrest in the country.

"Due to these matters, I want to keep myself away from all forms of cricket for the next two months. Hopefully, you will take the matter in a positive way," Saifuddin's email read.

However, it was learned that Saifuddin didn't mention the right rib injury that he sustained while attending an individual gym session in Mirpur two days before his Canada-bound flight, which was scheduled for late July.

Saifuddin was scheduled to represent the Montreal Tigers in the GT20 and he had also obtained a NOC from the BCB till August 8. Then, he was expected to join the 'A' team in Pakistan for the second four-dayer and one-day series.

"He observed the situation for a day [after the injury]. When he felt that his pain wasn't decreasing, he contacted our medical team. [BCB chief physician] Dr.Debashish [Chowdhury] checked him and gave him some instructions for treatment to assess his condition. We found severity in his pain," BCB physio Muzadded Sany told The Daily Star yesterday.

"We were not sure what type of injury it was. He planned to travel to Canada, and the 22-hour economy-class flight might have aggravated his injury.

"There would also be questions on us as to why we cleared him to play the tournament. So, we had asked him not to go to Canada to feature in the league," he added.

According to sources, Saifuddin's recent letter to BCB has irked the selectors as the cricketer had also skipped the Bangladesh Tigers' majority practice sessions in Sylhet and Chattogram last month.

"He only practised for nine days in Sylhet and four days in Chattogram out of a total of 45 days of Bangladesh Tigers' practice camp. He left the Chattogram camp after playing the first two white-ball practice matches citing that he had to attend his biometric for Canada visa," said an official on request of anonymity.

"He had also earlier taken leave citing family issues before Eid. He then sought extended leave which we also granted seeing his family emergency. Now he is talking about his reluctance about cricket," he concluded.

Saifuddin, who last represented Bangladesh in a T20I series against Zimbabwe in May this year, could not be reached for comments on the matter.