Fahim, Bishwanath set to miss Australia tie

With Bangladesh set to host group leaders Australia in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier next month, coach Javier Cabrera is sweating over the combination of his starting eleven due to the unavailability of at least four regular players including defender Bishwanath Ghosh and forward Faisal Ahmed Fahim.

Bangladesh, who sit at the bottom of the four-team table with one point from four matches, will host Australia on June 6 at the Bashundhara Kings Arena before traveling to Qatar to play against Lebanon five days later.

Right-back Bishwanath and winger Mojibur Rahman Jonny, who were part of the playing eleven against Palestine in March in Dhaka, were handed one-match suspensions following yellow cards in two matches while injuries also intensified the problems for the Men in Red and Green.

Four more players – Sohel Rana, Sohel Rana Jr, Saad Uddin and Rakib Hossain – had previously missed World Cup Qualifiers fixtures against different teams due to suspension this campaign.

Fahim is still suffering from an injury he sustained during the Palestine match in March while defender Tariq Kazi has failed to gain fitness since the Lebanon match in November last year.

"The season was good except for the last three months which was difficult for me. Though I am injured, I'm supporting the team every match and all of the guys are helping me," Tariq told reporters after Bashundhara Kings' Bangladesh Premier League title celebration on Saturday.

Asked whether was he going to miss the matches against Australia and Lebanon, Tariq said, "I can't say I would not be there because I am working hard every day to be available for the national team in June."

Tariq did not play a single match either in the domestic or international circuit since he sustained injury in last November, as a result missing home-and-away matches against Palestine in March.

"I am not available for the national team in the June Window as I have been suffering from an injury since the match against Palestine in March. The injury gives me discomfort in abdomen and I am preparing to travel to India," Fahim told The Daily Star recently at his Sheikh Jamal tent in Dhanmondi.

In the possible absence of Tariq and Bishwanath, the Bangladesh coach might have to rely on inexperienced players such as Hasan Murad, Shakil Ahmed, Taj Uddin and others.

With two rounds of the Bangladesh Premier League left, Cabrera will hope no further injuries happen to national team players in a bid to avoid further humiliation against Australia, who blew Bangladesh away 7-0 in Melbourne in November last year.

The unavailability of Fahim and Jonny will also put Cabrera in a bit of problem but the return of Sheikh Morsalin, who missed the matches against Palestine but recovered to play club Bashundhara Kings in the last few weeks, may give a bit of a relief for the 38-year-old Spaniard.