Cricketers in Bangabandhu Stadium after 19 years but as sprinters

The Bangladesh National Cricket Team has been actively engaged in matches for quite some time now. Since last December, they have played matches against New Zealand at home, followed by a tour to New Zealand, participation in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and a home series against Sri Lanka. Amidst these busy schedule, the importance of their fitness assessment became increasingly evident.

With this in mind, Bangladeshs new Strength and Conditioning Coach Nathan Kelly proposed conducting running tests to evaluate the players fitness levels. Thirty-four cricketers under the Bangladesh Cricket Boards (BCB) pool participated in this tests held at the Athletics track of the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Saturday.

This is for the first time in 19 years, when cricketers were seen in business at Bangabandhu National Stadium. This is the only venue in the World that two separate nations debut Test as Pakistan played their debut Test in 1955 at this very venue, while Bangladesh hosted India in their first ever Test match in 2000. All sort of cricket however, shifted from this venue to Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on January 31 in 2005. Since then cricket was in exile at Bangabandhu National Stadium.
However, the running tests took place in the early morning, from 6:00am to 7:30am, to avoid the sweltering midday heat. "We could gauge the players conditions through this test," stated BCBs trainer Iftikhairul Islam Ifti while addressing journalists after the session. He emphasized that there was no pass or fail grades; rather, the aim was to identify areas for improvement.

"Overall, the results are positive although there are areas that require attention," he added.

Explaining the choice of an athletics track for the tests, Ifti highlighted the importance of accurate timing and optimal conditions for obtaining precise results. "To adhere to international standards, we employed various testing methods," he said. "For instance, we conducted a 1600-meter ime trial to assess the functioning of their cardiovascular systems and their endurance levels."

"In addition," he continued, "we conducted sprint tests to evaluate individual speed capabilities. "40 meter sprint was taken to determine who is faster in 20 meter. In general, players get run-out for one or two meters or we can save a boundary for one or two centimeters. We tried to way out how we can make them faster."

Notably, some players were unable to participate due to various reasons. Mustafizur Rahman is currently in India, playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, while Shakib Al Hasan is in the USA. Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed and Taijul Islam were absent due to injuries.

During the sprint tests, the cricketers were divided into two groups with Nahid Rana and Tanzim Hasan Sakib emerged as the top performers in their respective groups.

Players attended in running test:
Afif Hossain, Alis Al Islam, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Hasan Mahmud, Hasan Murad, Zaker Ali Anik, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Liton Das, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mahmudullah Riyad, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Naim Sheikh, Mohammad Saifuddin, Muminul Haque, Mushfik Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nahid Rana, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Naeem Hasan, Nurul Hasan Shohan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Rishad Hossain, Roni Talukder, Saif Hasan, Shadman Islam, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, Sheikh Mahedi Hasan, Shamim Patowari, Shariful Islam, Tanveer Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Tanjim Hasan Shakib, Tawhid Hriday and Zakir Hasan.