Two first-class cricketers, Rajshahi’s Emon Ali and Rangpur’s Hasibul Hossain Siyam, stood out on the second day of the fitness test ahead of the National Cricket League, completing the 1,600-metre run in 5 minutes 30 seconds and 5 minutes 31 seconds respectively at the National Stadium athletics track in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Emon, a right-handed batter, recorded the fastest time of the day, while Siyam was just a second behind him.
The two-day assessment produced mixed results, although the second day was considerably better than the first. On the second day, Tanbir Hyder and Ashrafur Zaman Boronno failed to meet the required standards, bringing the total to four players who failed, including Sohag Gazi and Toufiq Khan Tushar from Day 1. As teams, Rajshahi and Chattogram had no failures and recorded average times of around six minutes.
Cricketers from the first and second XIs of Chattogram, Mymensingh, Rangpur and Rajshahi took part in the test on Wednesday, following players from Dhaka, Sylhet, Barishal and Khulna on the opening day.
Rangpur’s Tanbir completed the run in 8 minutes 50 seconds, while a team source said both he and Boronno were returning from injury.
“Hasibul Hossain Siyam completed the four laps in 5 minutes 31 seconds. Tanbir and Boronno could not meet the benchmark due to their injuries,” the source told TIMES.
Nasir Hossain and Alauddin Babu of Rangpur also completed the test within the required time, although the division recorded an average of around 7 minutes 10 seconds.
Players were required to complete four laps totalling 1,600 metres. The benchmark was set at seven minutes for bowlers and 7 minutes 20 seconds for batters, while the average across Wednesday’s tests was around six minutes.
A BCB medical official said the second day produced a much better result than the first.
“I watched most of the teams and the standard was very good. I also watched the trials of Rajshahi and saw some very good performances there. There were around 180 participants today, and most of them did well,” he said.
Players who fail the test will have two more opportunities, with further tests scheduled for October 3 and October 13.
The NCL, the country’s premier first-class competition, is scheduled to begin on October 3.
