Tigers look to manage Taskin's workload, sweat over Tamim's fitness

The hosts will have a couple of selection headaches against Afghanistan in the one-off Test as opener Tamim Iqbal's back pain has recurred. The southpaw didn't look comfortable in training sessions and could be out of the Test. In that case, back-up opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy, who scored a match-saving hundred against the West Indies A recently in Sylhet, will take his spot. Fit-again Zakir Hasan should be the other opener. 

"I think he is going to train today and see how he feels. He trained the day before and he had some discomfort in certain disciplines like batting and fielding. He is going to train today and we will assess him after that," head coach Chandika Hathurusingha told the media on Tuesday.

Tamim didn't feel comfortable in Tuesday's training either and left training after 10 minutes. 

The Mirpur pitch, at least from the outside, looks different from the one used in 2019 in Chattogram. The decision of having a spin-friendly track backfired as Afghanistan toyed with the hosts. The pitch, this time around, is likely to assist fast bowlers and it was evident from Bangladesh's selection as well when they picked as many as five pacers in the squad.

Taskin Ahmed, the spearhead of the attack, is now 100% fit but Bangladesh may not take a risk by playing him in the match, keeping in mind the other important event ahead. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also reportedly didn't let him play County cricket to manage his workload. Hathurusingha said managing his workload is going to be important. 

"Taskin actually trained really well during that rehab phase and I think physically he is in the best condition we all have seen. I think he will be ready to go if we decide to play him. There's nothing stopping at the moment; there's no injury but the bowling workload is the little bit of concern leading up to the period so again he will also be assessed after today's training and we will make the call," he said.