No spot for Ashraful now: Nannu

Bangladesh ace batsman Mohammad Ashraful might not find himself in national colours soon despite his five-year suspension ending on Monday.

On Sunday, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu reported that the chances of seeing Ashraful in red and green that too in immediate future is very slim.

BCB chief selector made it clear that there is no spot for Ashraful in the current squad. He also added that if Ashraful works hard, he might be able to find his way back into the team.

“At this point in time I don’t see any vacant spot in the national team. Right now, he is not up to the standards of fitness we follow for HP (High Performance), ‘A’ team and national team. To improve his chances, he needs to invest time and if he can improve fitness then we can think about it. So, right now we are not thinking about him,” told Nannu.

Nannu feels that the key hurdle for Ashraful will be regaining his fitness. He believes that this process will be a long one which will require careful examination.

“He has been out of international cricket for a long time. So he will have to start with domestic cricket. We will see whether his fitness is in line with international standards. We will be able to evaluate his fitness level once he plays all three formats of the game for a year or so,” said Nannu.

The youngest test centurion, Mohammad Ashraful is now 34. But Abedin seemed to focus more on fitness rather than age.

“Age is just a number. Any cricketer can come into the setup if his fitness is of international standards. He needs to be as fit as the players in the national squad. Moreover as many players have already settled themselves in the national team at Ashraful’s usual spots, his performance will have to be much better than the rest of the players,” concluded Minhajul Abedin Nannu.

Source: dailysun