Taskin Ahmed is back bowling at full pace in Mirpur.
It’s a positive sight. But it might not be enough for him to make the squad for next month’s white-ball series against Sri Lanka.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board had said earlier that Taskin would likely recover fully by early June. That timeline held. He’s training with fellow pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Shoriful Islam. All three are coming off injuries.
Taskin was left out of the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka. The board didn’t want to risk throwing a returning pacer into the physical grind of red-ball cricket. They’re easing him back with white-ball training.
Still, nothing is guaranteed
There’s uncertainty around his ODI return
The Sri Lanka ODIs begin on July 2. Bangladesh is expected to announce the squad soon. According to BCB’s chief physician Dr. Debashis Chowdhury, Taskin’s final status will be reassessed at the end of the month.
“We’re not sure yet,” Dr. Chowdhury told The Daily Star four days ago. “We’ll evaluate him again before making a call.”
So far, signs look promising.
Taskin bowled a long spell in practice this week. Team trainers are monitoring his sessions closely. Bangladesh opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim said he was impressed with what he saw.
“Alhamdulillah, he’s recovering well,” Tamim said after Wednesday’s practice. “He’s been working regularly with our trainer. Today he bowled a long spell, and it looked really good. I hope he can come back in this series, inshallah.”
Others are recovering too
Shoriful Islam and Mustafizur Rahman are also training in Mirpur. Both have resumed bowling after clearing their fitness tests. Tamim offered a brief update on Mustafizur as well.
“Fizz bowls after every fitness session,” he said. “He’s training every day. Hopefully, he’ll come back strong.”
Had injuries not disrupted their timelines, both Taskin and Shoriful could’ve been part of the current Test series.
Now, attention turns to whether they’ll be match-ready for the white-ball games. Bangladesh plays three ODIs and three T20Is against Sri Lanka after the two-Test series wraps up.
Taskin might miss the first part of that. Maybe more. Still, with three key pacers working toward full recovery, the team has options. And some hope.
As Tamim put it, “Better late than never. Let them all return fully fit. If that happens, we can get some good results.”
