'Morsalin needs to fight for his place'

Sheikh Morsalin, one of the rising stars in Bangladesh football, has been struggling to find a place in the Bashundhara Kings playing XI this season, having not played a match for the club since December 11.

The 19-year-old forward came on as a substitute in their AFC Cup match against Odisha FC, which they lost 1-0, and since then has been cooling his heels.

Morsalin was not even part of the 23-man squad in Kings' last three matches in the Bangladesh Premier League, rousing questions about the club's outlook towards the promising forward.

To return to the Kings squad and the playing eleven, Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera urged his star pupil to fight for his position.

"He [Morsalin] needs to fight," Cabrera told the reporters on Sunday at the BFF House after returning to office after a vacation.

"He is in a very competitive squad with a lot of high-level foreigners in his position. He is a young boy and he needs to understand that he needs to fight and compete hard to get into the lineup," he added.

Morsalin and two of his Bangladesh teammates Tapu Barman and Anisur Rahman Zico were among the five players who were penalised by the Kings' on disciplinary grounds last year.

Tapu and Zico have returned to action after the club shortened their suspensions. Cabrera was happy to see them comeback and said they will be considered for the Bangladesh squad for their upcoming World Cup Qualifier matches against Palestine and Lebanon in March.

"It is great to have them back. They have been key players for us for many years… Now that they are back, all of them have the same possibility to get the chance," said the Spaniard.

Bangladesh's three opponents in the qualifiers – Palestine, Lebanon and Australia – are competing in the ongoing AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Bangladesh's next two matches in the qualifiers are against Palestine, the first at home on March 21 and then the away match on March 26.

Cabrera wants a camp in Saudi Arabia, similar to the one they had last year, before the home match against Palestine.

"The last camp in Saudi Arabia had been great for us. We were able to create some base for the rest of the year. This year the plan is to do something like last year."