Cricketers delighted to return to team practice

The Bangladesh national team returned to team practice after more than six months and it was evident in their body language that how delighted they were to train together again. After a rigorous wait of 193 days, cricketers breathed a sigh of relief as they trained together again at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. 

This new start also came with a new training kit. The cricketers trained in a black and white kit to practice on Sunday. In their training session of two and a half hours, they did stretching, running, played football and worked on their batting and bowling. It seemed like that for them, normal service had resumed. 

After the first day of training, a handful of cricketers expressed their delight along with their relief. Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain and Nurul Hasan Sohan expressed their relief and ecstasy while talking to The Business Standard (TBS) whereas T20I skipper Mahmudullah Riyad also shared his feelings.

"We all trained together after a long time. I am delighted to train together after such a long time. I was missing training together like this. Because we had never faced such a long break. So, it is a relief to return to the grass. It feels like coming home," said seamer Rubel Hossain. 

Wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan Sohan is enthralled with returning to the field. He said, "It feels great to return to team practice. A different kind of feeling is working. I was waiting for a long time to return and it feels great. I am training with my teammates after such a long time, the thrill is different."

During the lockdown, pacer Taskin Ahmed worked on his fitness. As there was no opportunity to train at the Mirpur stadium, he trained by himself during this time and lost 5 kgs in weight. Upon return to training, he showed rhythm with the ball as he troubled Liton Das with his fast bouncers in the nets.

"Feels great to be back. It is a relief. We are training together, sharing the team bus, I was missing all these. Because there is a lot of difference between individual and group training. A different kind of feeling is at work. Another big relief is that my bowling has been better. I will try to keep up this consistency," Taskin said. 

T20I skipper Mahmudullah said, "We are working together as a group now. I and my teammates are delighted. Because at the end of the day it's a team sport. If everyone can enjoy training together, then it is more helpful for all the players."

16 cricketers and the coaching staff went to Hotel Sonargaon after training via the team bus. Taskin and Mehidy Hasan Miraz had checked in there on Sunday morning and the rest of them did so after training. The cricketers will continue their training staying within the bio-secure bubble the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has created for them.

Despite the Sri Lanka tour is under a shade of doubt over quarantine issues, BCB is working according to their plan. If the series is confirmed, then the team will board their flight to Sri Lanka on September 27. Bangladesh will play a three-match Test series at Sri Lanka with the first one starting 0n October 24 at Kandy.