Pacer Nahid Rana clocks fastest 1600-meter time among 22 participants
Just weeks before the Asia Cup, Bangladesh’s cricket squad underwent a revamped fitness assessment at the National Stadium in Dhaka — and while a few players impressed, several fell below the expected benchmark.
The new regimen, overseen by strength and conditioning coach Nathan Keily, replaced the traditional Yo-Yo and beep tests with two fresh challenges: a 1600-meter run and a 40-meter sprint.
Emerging pacer Nahid Rana topped the charts, completing the 1600-meter run in a remarkable 5 minutes and 31 seconds — the fastest among the 22 players who participated. However, senior pacers Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed, along with Tanvir Islam and Shamim Patowary, took close to eight minutes to finish, falling short of the desired standards.
“Rana was just outstanding,” a member of the team management told reporters. “A few others also did well, but there were definitely some who didn’t meet expectations.”
In the first batch of runners, Mehedi Hasan Miraz secured second place with a time of 6 minutes and 1 second, while veteran wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim followed closely at 6 minutes and 10 seconds. In the second group, Tanzim Hasan Sakib led with 5 minutes and 53 seconds, ahead of Shahadat Hossain Dipu (6 minutes) and Parvez Hossain Emon (6 minutes and 13 seconds).
Six members of the 25-man preliminary squad did not take part in the test. This included T20I skipper Liton Kumar Das and Towhid Hridoy, while Nurul Hasan Sohan, Saif Hasan, Afif Hossain, and Mahidul Islam Ankon were unavailable due to commitments with the Bangladesh ‘A’ team in Australia.
The ongoing fitness camp is part of Bangladesh’s preparations for a three-match home T20I series against the Netherlands before the squad departs for the Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE. After the fitness drills, the Tigers will move to Sylhet on August 20 for a skills-focused training camp.
