Mashrafe Mortaza hopes for England tour of Bangladesh

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza has stated that he was ‘hopeful’ that England will pull through with the tour of Bangladesh in spite of the attacks in the country recently. Although there is still some doubt regarding the tour, a group of 30 members comprising of Bangladesh players began training in Dhaka as of today.

“I personally hope that the tour goes ahead,” Mashrafe said. “Cricket followers in Bangladesh have been waiting for a long time for a home series. Bangladeshi people love cricket, and they hope that England is coming for the tour. I am hopeful they (England) will come to hold on to the cricket culture.”

“England have always helped Bangladesh. They had sent the team in the Under-19 World Cup. They will certainly get security, as much as what other cricket teams get when they come here. Bangladeshi people respect cricketers. I don’t think there will be a problem.”

Some England players including limited overs’ skipper Eoin Morgan also expressed concerns over touring the country at this particular point in time.

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Mashrafe Mortaza also said their job would be to focus on on-field activities while the BCB would tackle the security issue with the ECB. “There are still three months left so I remain hopeful of the tour. We should keep focusing on our fitness. BCB will take care of the rest.”

Mashrafe added that strength and conditioning coach Mario Villavarayan was absent from the side due to a personal reason.  “We are not accustomed to working without Mario. But Iftekharul (Islam) has been around for a long time,” Mashrafe said. “Mario has told him what to do but the players know what they have to do.

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“Everyone knows that they may lose fitness if they are not serious after a six-week gap. This is a great opportunity for us to take care of ourselves and hold on to our fitness.”