Tamim uncertain for 1st Ireland ODI
Bangladesh One-Day International (ODI) captain Tamim Iqbal could miss the first ODI of the three-match series between the hosts and Ireland due to a fever, said the national team’s head coach Chandika Hathurusingha.
Tamim has been down with a mild fever for a few days, informed Hathurusingha during a pre-match press conference in Sylhet on Friday.
The Sri Lankan said that he will take the final call on whether or not Tamim will feature in the series opener at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Saturday after observing him in Friday’s training.
“I’m not worried about Tamim’s fitness, I’m worried about his health. I think he has a viral infection or something… He (Tamim) will do some batting and fielding. Then I will decide,” Hathurusingha told the media.
A little while after Hathurusingha’s press conference, Tamim was seen busy in the nets with a bat in hand. He faced off against national team quicks Taskin Ahmed and Hasan Mahmud, practiced power hitting and was also seen discussing a technical issue regarding his batting with Hathurusingha.
The news of Tamim’s illness comes hours after all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz hurt his eyes after getting struck on the head with a football during a warmup session.
The all-rounder was taken to a hospital for a CT scan and fortunately the reports showed no reasons to be concerned, said the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief physician Debashis Chowdhury. He was later taken to an ophthalmologist.
Earlier on Thursday, wicketkeeper-batsman Zakir Hasan got ruled out of the ODI series after hurting his thumb during a training session.
The young southpaw had been called up to the ODI side for the first time after already impressing in the five-day format.
Zakir’s misfortune, however, opened the doors for opener Rony Talukder, who replaced him in the squad for the first two ODIs of the series.