Bangladesh send Sarkar, Kayes to Dubai without consulting captain Mortaza
Confusions reigned supreme after Mortaza expressed his surprise at the board's sudden decision to send Sarkar and Kayes to Dubai, saying that he wasn’t even consulted by the board officials or the selectors.
The successive defeats to Afghanistan and India in the ongoing Asia Cup have left Bangladesh jolted and the selectors back home searching for answers. The desperation to get Bangladesh’s campaign back on track was such that the section panel - certainly under more pressure than the team – ordered Soumya Sarkar and Imrul Kayes to pull out from an ongoing domestic match and fly to Dubai to join the squad, that too without consulting captain Mashrafe Mortaza.
Confusions reigned supreme after Mortaza expressed his surprise at the board's sudden decision to send Sarkar and Kayes to Dubai, saying that he wasn’t even consulted by the board officials or the selectors.
"Listen, those who are coming in have also lost their places in the team. As I said, there has not been a discussion on this,” Mortaza said.
Kayes and Sarkar were both dropped from the ODI side last year after a sudden drop in form. But the current form of the Bangladesh openers – Litton Das and Nazmul Hossain – prompted the selectors to send backup. Bangladesh were jolted early with opener Tamim Iqbal being ruled out with a broken hand and since then they have struggled to get off to good starts. As a result, they were bowled out for 119 and 173 in their last two games.
Captain, Mortaza, however, did not hide his emotions about the two sudden inclusions, saying that they were dropped for a reason in the first place. They were dropped because they have not performed. And in these conditions, I don't know what they have done technically to suddenly come in and take the pressure. Whether they have rectified the problems for which they were dropped in the first place, I'm not sure. So all these things will matter in such a tournament."
"Actually, we put so much pressure on them [young players] in such a short time, that their chances of performing well reduce even further. The people you are talking about - the four or five of us (Mushfiqur, Tamim, Shakib, Mahmudullah) - we were never superheroes.
"You may be looking at our careers over the last two-three-four years. But the previous six or seven years, the cricket we have played, how well did we actually play? People start doing well only after encountering many situations and learning from them. Maybe we are not able to give them the chance or create that situation."
Interestingly, Bangladesh selected Imrul Kayes for the Afghanistan game in place of Mosaddek Hossain but the left-hander came into bat as low as No. 6.