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Towhid's selection for national team is too early, says Mashrafe


Published : 17 Feb 2023 07:38 PM

Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza opined that Towhid Hridoy's selection for the England Series is too soon for the young batter.

Mashrafe also believes that young batter need sufficient time to adjust to the different conditions of the national team and that because he was called into the squad early, he should be given more time before being judged.

"Towhid Hridoy is at the very beginning of his career. I might have taken a little more time in this case. Everyone has to accept it. The best five bowlers of a country will play in the national team. I don't expect much…if he plays well that's good. But our expectations should be within limit because the boy was taken into the team very quickly," said Mashrafe.

"Now if Hridoy can't be productive, we should not throw him away. But then we don't question why he was included in the team after one tournament, and why he was dropped after playing two matches. For that, we should be concerned while taking in the team and should also think before dropping," he said.

The captain feel it's difficult for players to adapt to the terms and condition of the national team. He  drew the example of the struggles of openers Liton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto during their early stage. 

"Liton and Shanto had to take a lot of pressure. A boy can be played in different places to make him capable to face every situation. But developing someone in the national team is difficult for the team also for the cricketer," he added.

Hridoy, who scored 403 runs in 12 innings with an impressive strike-rate of 140.41 to remain as the third-highest run-getter in BPL's ninth edition, was the only fresh face in the squad. 

The England team, who is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on February 24, will also play three T20Is against the Tigers, starting from March 9.