Mashrafe Mortaza and team injured themselves ahead of World Cup
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza will push through playing in their team’s first match against South Africa on June 2 despite injuries.
The right-handed bowler strained his hamstring when he tried to bowl an extended spell against batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli during a practice match between Bangladesh and India.
“A lot of times in such cases, I face trouble bowling the first one or two overs. Once I get through that, I don’t face any more problems. I also wasn’t facing any problems today (on Tuesday),” said Mashrafe in an interview with bdnews24.
However, he was able to score 23 runs in six overs without getting a wicket after he was injured.
“But I pulled a hamstring during the sixth over. I could have stopped after four or five overs but Rohit and Kohli were looking to score runs quickly during that period. I felt that I needed to practise bowling in such a situation,” he continued.
Mortaza admitted the team were having injury-related concerns even before the tournament has started. Other team members like all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and bowler Mustafizur Rahman also suffered a side strain and calf injury, respectively. Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal strained his thigh that caused him to miss the team’s practice match against India. However, he is expected to play in their team’s first match against South Africa.
Mashrafe will still play in all of their team’s tournaments because it is his last ICC World Cup.
Bangladesh will play their first World Cup match against South Africa at The Oval.
