2024-04-21 08:32:36
Bangabandhu National Stadium is closely associated with the cricket history of Bangladesh. This was all cricket before the rise of Home of Cricket! On the athletics turf of that historic stadium, the cricketers of the national team checked their fitness status by running.
Cricketers-officials appeared at the Bangabandhu Stadium early on Saturday morning. Which is basically the brainchild of new physio Nathan Kelly. This system is mainly to see the fitness status of the cricketers before the World Cup. 35 cricketers participated in 1600m and 40m sprint.
Shahriar Nafis, in-charge of cricket operations department, said in the media, ‘There is actually a matter of timing behind choosing the athletics track. If we follow internationally there are several testing methods, we took a 1600 meter time trial today. If not on the athletics track, then proper timing is. Because that’s how it’s calculated. It seems new to them. All in all good.’
Cricketers take part in this race spontaneously. All the cricketers ran divided into two teams. Two young pacers Nahid Rana and Tanjim Hasan Shakib were the first to cross 1600 meters. This is not the end of the race, there will be various sessions under Cali at Mirpur Gymnasium.
Among the current cricketers of Bangladesh, only two cricketers have the experience of playing on this field. Young Mahmudullah played in a domestic cricket tournament at Bangabandhu Stadium in 2004. Apart from this, Mushfiqur Rahim also played. Cricketer-turned-boarder Shahriar Nafees and Nafees Iqbal have also played at this ground, both present today.
While commemorating the memorial, Shahriar said, ‘I came to this field for the first time in 1994. Many iconic cricketers used to play here. I used to come to the field to see them. Played the important innings of my career at this ground in 2004, scoring a century in a warm-up match against the India U-19 team. Maybe I didn’t understand then. But now I understand that innings was very important. Every inch of Bandhubandhu Stadium carries history. Players of our generation, not just cricketers, but players of other sports will also say this.’
“Those who are a new generation, they may not have played here. But must have heard about this stadium. Many were born around 2000. They are not even supposed to play. But being the iconic stadium, its story must have been heard. Look, normally not so many people are supposed to come to see the fitness test at six in the morning. Since Bangabandhu Stadium, it has come. It was a great experience for everyone’, added Shahriar.
Also present in the training session was the native trainer Mir Ifti Khairul Islam. Who recently also worked with the national team. Ifti said, ‘Through this test, I understood the condition of the players. There is nothing wrong with it. DPL gone, BPL gone. Then to know what their fitness status is. After knowing this, I will find out which players to practice what. I will let them know, we will apply it that way.’