Injury puts Saifuddin’s World Cup chances at risk

DUBLIN, Ireland: Injury concerns ahead of the ICC World Cup 2019 continued as Bangladesh’s young bowling all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin was down with back pain ahead of the tri-series clash against West Indies on Monday.

Saifuddin was seen spending most of his time with physio Chihan Chandramohan on the eve of the game. “Saifuddin is having some kind of pain in the back and we don’t want to take any risk with him and so we are considering him (Jayed) to make his debut against West Indies,” Bangladesh Cricket Board chief selector Minhajul Abedin told Cricbuzz.

Saifuddin’s injury paved the way for Abu Jayed to make his debut, but he couldn’t add any wicket to his name and conceded 56 runs in nine overs. Jayed is in the World Cup squad but the selectors are now looking at Taskin Ahmed as a potential replacement for him.

BCB president Nazmul Hasan, however, stressed that the decision won’t be taken without giving Jayed a chance to prove himself. “It is true that (Jayed) was taken because Taskin was injured. Now if Taskin if fully fit, we can always consider Taskin to be in the 15-member team,” he said, but added that “it would be unfair to change Jayed without giving enough opportunities.” Taskin has been picked for the ongoing tri-series in Ireland.