World Cup 2019: Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza likely to play against SA with hamstring strain

At 35, Mashrafe Mortaza is playing in his last World Cup and doesn’t want to miss any moment on the big stage. One of the rare bowler captains of the ICC World Cup 2019, Mashrafe picked up a hamstring strain during the warm-up game against India in Cardiff on Tuesday but he is unlikely to sit out for his team’s first match. Bangladesh will play South Africa at the Oval on June 2.

The pacer said he got injured when he tried to bowl an extended spell against Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The Bangladesh captain did a fine job by conceding only 23 runs in six overs (two maidens) even though he got no wickets. The economy rate was decent given the fact that Bangladesh allowed India to score 359 for 7 in 50 overs with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (113) and KL Rahul (108) scoring centuries.

“A lot of times in such cases, I face trouble bowling the first one or two overs. Once I get through that, I don’t face any more problems. I also wasn’t facing any problems today [on Tuesday],” Mashrafe, who has had stints with injury, was quoted by Dhaka-based bdnews24 as saying. “But I pulled a hamstring during the sixth over. I could have stopped after four or five overs but Rohit and Kohli were looking to score runs quickly during that period. I felt that I needed to practise bowling in such a situation.”

Mashrafe was seen in the dressing room for most of the India innings and Shakib Al Hasan, his deputy, captained the side in his absence. He did not come out to bat either as Bangladesh were all out 264 to lose by 95 runs.

Bangladesh have injury concerns, admits the captain

The cricketer later admitted that Bangladesh is indeed having some injury concerns. While ace all-rounder Shakib recently recovered from a side strain, Mustafizur Rahman has a calf injury. Opener Tamim Iqbal, playing in his fourth World Cup at the age of 30, missed the India match because of a minor thigh strain but is expected to play against South Africa.