Sports Desk:

With several national cricketers involved in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) final, the first training session ahead of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy saw an unusual sight—more coaches than players—at the National Cricket Academy in Mirpur on Saturday.

Fast bowlers Mustafizur Rahman and Tanzim Hasan Sakib, along with batters Jaker Ali Anik, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, and Soumya Sarkar, trained under the guidance of head coach Phil Simmons, senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin, spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed, and pace bowling coach Andre Adams. Bangladesh Cricket Board’s other coaching staff, including Sohel Islam and Talha Jubair, were also present for the two-hour session.

Several key players, such as Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Towhid Hridoy, Rishad Hossain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, and Parvez Hossain Emon, missed the session due to their participation in the BPL final, which concluded late on Friday night.

However, players including Taskin Ahmed, Nasum Ahmed, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, and Nahid Rana—whose teams did not reach the BPL final—were also absent from training.

The training camp will run until 12th February before the team departs for the UAE on 14th February to compete in the marquee tournament, set to commence on 19th February.

It was initially speculated that some of the absent players, whose formative years were spent at Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP), might have attended a reunion event at the institution yesterday. However, reports suggest that none of the national players were present at the programme.

Meanwhile, BPL champions Fortune Barishal are set to tour the division with their two consecutive BPL trophies, likely preventing national players from the team from attending today’s training session as well.

Bangladesh, placed in Group A of the eight-team Champions Trophy, will begin their campaign against India in Dubai on 20th February, before facing New Zealand and Pakistan in their remaining fixtures on 24th and 27th February, respectively, in Rawalpindi.