In an effort to get speed bowler Mustafizur Rahman ready for international matches, the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Saturday that he has been added to the 15-man Bangladesh A team for the first two one-day matches against New Zealand A.
After receiving a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection on March 12, Mustafizur resumed playing competitive cricket after taking some time off. PRP is a treatment in which a concentrated quantity of a patient’s own platelets are injected into an injury or trouble spot to promote healing and reduce inflammation, potentially accelerating tissue repair and reducing pain.
After being selected by Mohammedan Sporting Club to play for them in the super league phase, Mustafizur made a comeback to competitive cricket in the current Dhaka Premier League, the nation’s regular List A event. Mustafizur has taken five wickets in his three DPL games thus far.
“He (Mustafizur) was out of cricket for a while. So we brought him into the A team to make him ready for the upcoming international fixture,” BCB chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain told Cricbuzz on Saturday.
The team is made up of both seasoned fighters and up-and-coming talent. Senior players like Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, and Anamul Haque Bijoy have been added alongside Mustafizur.
“We are expecting the series to be highly competitive and we have also brought some seasoned campaigners like Mossadek and Sohan just to make sure that they are not out of our radar,” he said.
Although BCB did not reveal his name when releasing the roster, Cricbuzz is aware that Nurul Hasan Sohan is expected to captain the team due to his seniority and expertise.
On May 1, New Zealand A will go to Bangladesh for a trip that will include two four-day games and three one-day matches. Every game will take place in Dhaka and Sylhet.
The Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS) will host the first game of the one-day series on May 5. The second and third games are set for May 7 and May 10, respectively. The teams will transition to red-ball cricket following the limited-overs matches; the first four-day encounter is scheduled for May 14–17 at Sylhet. The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka will host the last four-day match of the series from May 21–24.
Bangladesh squad (1st & 2nd One Day Matches)
Parvez Hossain Emon, Md. Naim Sheikh, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Mahidul Islam Bhuiyan, Saif Hasan, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Shamim Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Ebadot Hossain Chowdhury, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Rejaur Rahman Raja
