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Chennai’s disheartening defeat at the hands of Punjab, the fitness problems of MS Dhoni and Justin Kemp, and repeated failures in their experiment with a fifth bowler are a serious cause for concern come tomorrow

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya22-Mar-2010

Match facts

Tuesday, March 23
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)

Big picture

Can Chennai stop Jacques Kallis’ prolific run?•AFP

Bangalore and Chennai are capital cities sharing a traditional rivalry but when extended to the third edition of the IPL, there is little debate over which team is better placed going into Tuesday’s match-up. Bangalore are top of the IPL table while Chennai are bruising physically and mentally.Both teams suffered blips in their respective starts to the tournament before winning the next two games. However, Chennai’s Super Over defeat at home to Kings XI Punjab on Sunday, when they failed to chase 137, the fitness problems of two crucial players, MS Dhoni and Justin Kemp, and repeated failures in their experiments with the fifth-bowler slot are serious causes for concern. Manpreet Gony, who struggled against Punjab with both bat and ball, Joginder Sharma and Sudeep Tyagi have all been tried with poor results.Contrast that to Bangalore’s resurgence. There has been stability in their attack with the five frontline bowlers retained in their three successive wins; targets high, low and tricky have been chased ruthlessly with Jacques Kallis unbeaten in this IPL, and with three fifties in four games; and backing up a formidable opening pair of Kallis and Manish Pandey is a line-up with considerable international exposure, which Chennai’s bowlers, barring Muttiah Muralitharan, may struggle to contain.The absence of Dhoni hurt Chennai in their failed chase against Punjab; his recovery from an injury to his arm has been gradual, and coach Stephen Fleming had said he could take the field in the game against Mumbai Indians on March 25. Chennai, who could slip down further from their current fourth position in the event of a loss on Tuesday, need an urgent recovery with their star player missing.

Team talk

Bangalore will be tempted to retain the combination that has won them the last three games. Eoin Morgan, though, thanks to the success of the openers, hasn’t had much time in the middle and Bangalore will be keen to witness him perform.Chennai could leave out Gony after his disappointing turn-out against Punjab. Chennai will have prepared a contingency measure for Kemp, who hurt his back, bowling just one ball and not coming out to bat. In the event of his absence, Sri Lankan allrounder Thissara Perera remains an option, so does Makhaya Ntini, should Chennai aim to strengthen their bowling. C Ganapathy, a fast-bowling allrounder, who is a crucial member of the Tamil Nadu set-up, could fill in if Gony’s left out.

Previously…

Bangalore 3 Chennai 2
The teams shared honours in the first edition, with Chennai beating Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium by 13 runs, and Bangalore prevailing at Chepauk by 14 runs. The league stages in South Africa followed a similar pattern as Chennai triumphed in Port Elizabeth by 92 runs, followed by Bangalore surviving by two wickets in Durban. However, Bangalore had the last laugh, sealing an easy win in the semi-final by six wickets, with Pandey and Rahul Dravid seeing them through.

In the spotlight

Murali v Bangalore top order: Kallis and Pandey have been dominant while opening. While Kallis, with all his experience, has the wherewithal to combat Murali, Pandey has only faced the offspinner once. He proved adept against Shane Warne in Bangalore’s ten-wicket win, showing solidity in defence and picking the variations to find the boundary. While Murali generally doesn’t prefer bowling within the first six overs, Chennai may adopt a different strategy to halt Bangalore’s success at the top.Matthew Hayden v Dale Steyn: Steyn has clocked close to 150 kmph this tournament and has been economical, working well with his opening partner Praveen Kumar. He is foremost in Anil Kumble’s plan of bouncing out Indian batsmen. While the ploy may be designed more to target someone like Suresh Raina, who was found out in the World Twenty20, Hayden’s naturally audacious approach presents a different challenge.

Prime numbers

Anil Kumble has bowled 45 dot balls in this IPL, Steyn too has 45 and Praveen Kumar has 43. They are part of a list of six players with the most dot balls in the competition; Murali has 46 to his name.Bangalore have conceded 180 runs in the Powerplay in this IPL, at 7.19 an over. They are third in the list of most economical teams in the first six overs, with Deccan Chargers leading with 5.95, followed by Kolkata Knight Riders at 6.92. Chennai, with 7.68, are in fifth place.

The chatter

“We wanted Kallis to bat for the 20 overs and he has been doing that. He has been anchoring one end and when required he has been taking on the bowlers. He is a great player and with his ability to bowl he is a great asset. We hope that this continues.”
Anil Kumble, the Bangalore captain, sums up Kallis’ role, which he has lived up to with much success thus far.

Pooran is also captain of the MI franchises in the MLC and the ILT20

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2025Nicholas Pooran has been named Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) captain ahead of CPL 2025. He will take over from Kieron Pollard, who has led the team since 2019, when he replaced Dwayne Bravo in the role.”It means a lot, first and foremost, to represent Trinbago Knight Riders. It is a privilege that I’m getting the opportunity to lead this franchise,” Pooran said. “I want to give it my best shot, and hopefully make as many correct decisions as I can. It’s a responsibility that has been passed on from Bravo to Pollard, and now to me.”For me, the most satisfying thing is that Pollard is still playing; Sunil [Narine] and Andre [Russell] are here too. That’s a lot of experience I can bank on. To lead them on the field – it means a lot to me.”Related

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Pooran, who is one of the most sought-after players on the T20 circuit, made his debut in the format as a 17-year-old in the inaugural season of the CPL for TKR, who were then known as Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel. He switched to Barbados Royals (BR) and Guyana Amazon Warriors before returning to TKR in 2022. He’s played in all the CPL seasons so far except for 2015, when he was out injured due to an accident. Overall in the CPL, Pooran has 2447 runs at a strike rate of 152.27 in 114 matches. At present, he is also the captain of MI New York in the MLC and MI Emirates in the ILT20.Under Pollard’s leadership, TKR not only won their fourth CPL title in 2020 but had a record unbeaten season – with 12 out of 12 wins – before making two more playoff appearances. In 2024, they lost the Eliminator to BR. Bravo was named head coach this season after he retired last year.”I believe grooming the next generation is very important,” Pollard said. “With Bravo coming on board this year as the new head coach, we felt this is the right time to get a new captain in. Pooran is homegrown, and I think this is the right opportunity for him. We’ve actually been preparing him for this over the years.”I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be playing for, but I’m happy for the opportunity to still be on the field and help Nicholas ease into this role. He’s someone who we’ve seen grow in front of us and he understands our values and principles. He understands how we want to play cricket, he understands the winning culture that we want to create, and he shares a lot of respect with a lot of players around the world. So for me, it was an easy decision to hand over the captaincy to Pooran.”TKR start their CPL 2025 campaign against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots on August 17.

Mir Hamza, Tabraiz Shamsi and Leus du Plooy missed the game for Karachi because of a viral infection

Associated Press01-Mar-2024Sherfane Rutherford hit an unbeaten half-century and earned a five-wicket win for Quetta Gladiators over a depleted Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League on Thursday.Rutherford smashed 58 not out off 31 balls with six towering sixes and a match-winning boundary off the final ball as Quetta recovered from a middle-order collapse to chase down 166 for their fourth win in five games.Karachi couldn’t cash in on James Vince and Tim Seifert’s impactful batting in the powerplay before they got tangled against the Quetta spinners and were restricted to 165 for 8. It was Karachi’s third loss in five games.Several frontline Karachi players including Mir Hamza, Tabraiz Shamsi and Leus du Plooy missed the game because of a viral infection. Du Plooy was hospitalised.Legspinner Zahid Mahmood, playing in his first game of the season, and Hasan Ali brought Karachi into the game with two wickets each and Shoaib Malik had the key wicket of half-centurion Jason Roy as Quetta stumbled to 89 for 5 in the 12th over.But Rutherford led the counterattack – with Akeal Hosein – with his powerful hitting before smashing fast bowler Anwar Ali in the final over. Quetta needed 15 from six balls, and Rutherford’s two sixes off the first two balls tilted the game in their favour.Earlier, Shan Masood’s below-par first season as Karachi captain continued when he was bowled for 2 by left-arm spinner Hosein in the first over.Vince smacked eight fours in his whirlwind knock during the power play before spinner Usman Tariq changed the complexion of the game by trapping both Seifert and Vince lbw in his first over.Abrar Ahmed came back well in his last two overs and got three wickets as Kieron Pollard was bowled by the legspinner in the death overs. Anwar provided a late flurry with an unbeaten 25 that included 20 off Mohammad Wasim’s last over but it was not enough.

The opener batted all day and was on 97 when the players shook hands with two balls left

AAP09-Oct-2022A thirsty Henry Hunt insists there’s no bad blood with Victoria despite stumps being called early with the South Australian opener stranded three short of a stoic Sheffield Shield century.Hunt (97 off 326 balls) was impenetrable on Sunday, refusing easy singles for the last hour to farm the strike as the Redbacks finished 7 for 207 after 107.4 overs in unlikely pursuit of 425.After creeping through the 80s at Adelaide’s Karen Rolton Oval, Hunt began the day’s final over on 93 and glanced Will Sutherland’s fourth ball for four. But after denying Victoria victory they denied him a century.Related

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With two balls left and a result out of the equation, players shook hands for a draw to rob Hunt of potentially two swings at an eighth first-class hundred.”At the end of the day I just wanted to get off the field and have a beer,” a diplomatic Hunt said of the final over being cut short. “It’s nice to have personal success but the end result of the day was to try and get the draw.”Boxes ticked in that regard; hopefully I can maybe score a little bit quicker in the next game, hit a few more boundaries and it might be on the cards. Backs against the wall given the position we were in early after lunch, it was the best possible result for us.”Victorian captain Peter Handscomb’s day-three century was followed by a late declaration, with SA surviving 12 overs to resume on Sunday at 0-38 requiring a further 387 runs for an improbable win.Three wickets in each session extinguished hope of a successful chase, with debutant Fergus O’Neill dismissing Test pair Travis Head and Alex Carey.Head flayed at a drive but picked out short cover to officially kill-off the chase, while Carey’s grinding innings (2 off 38 balls) was ended when wicketkeeper Sam Harper snaffled an edge while standing up to the stumps.Allrounder Nathan McSweeney then struck a wide, looping Jon Holland full-toss to a diving Mitchell Perry at backward point to open up the tail.Victoria engineered another wicket when Nic Maddison’s direct hit from a tight angle found Wes Agar (19 off 56) just short of his ground.That was the only wicket to fall in the final session though, with No. 9 David Grant digging in for 45 balls without scoring to see it through with Hunt.There were few other chances, although Hunt survived a tight lbw appeal and almost chopped a ball onto his stumps in consecutive deliveries against spinner Holland.Sutherland went wicketless in the final innings but had a fine game, his first-innings maiden century followed by a four-wicket haul to give Victoria an 80-run first innings lead.

Glamorgan’s quarter-final hopes hit with Selman, Labuschagne, Neser left out of squad for Middlesex game

Matt Roller27-Jun-2021Glamorgan’s hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast have been hit by news that Nick Selman has tested positive for Covid-19 and that Marnus Labuschagne is a potential close contact.Selman, the top-order batter, is the club’s second-highest run-scorer in the Blast this year with 130 runs in six innings, and will spend 10 days in self-isolation after returning a positive result from a PCR test, ruling him out of four T20 fixtures.Perhaps the bigger blow is the loss of Labuschagne, who, along with his compatriot Michael Neser, has been identified as a “potential close contact”, leading the club to withdraw them from the squad to play Middlesex at Radlett on Sunday.Labuschagne is Glamorgan’s highest run-scorer and seventh in the competition’s run charts overall, and has also taken seven wickets while conceding only 7.43 runs an over with his legbreaks. With Colin Ingram also playing as an overseas player, Neser has not yet been required in the Blast.Related

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The club confirmed that Sunday’s fixture against Middlesex would go ahead as planned after the rest of the club’s playing and coaching staff all returned negative Covid tests. Billy Root and Sam Pearce – Wales’ captain in National Counties cricket – have been added to the squad as cover.Glamorgan are seventh in the South Group, three points behind fourth-placed Sussex having played a game more, and are running out of time to put a string of wins together and propel them into the knockout stages for the first time since 2017.Several counties have been affected by positive Covid tests and enforced periods of self-isolation over the last two seasons. This year, Durham, Surrey, Nottinghamshire and Middlesex have all had players miss games due to positive tests or track-and-trace requirements, while Hampshire, Yorkshire and Northamptonshire were affected last season.

‘New Zealand Cricket and I have talked about this for a long time, looking after the staff and the players we have’

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2020New Zealand’s returning coach Gary Stead has said that he was “very surprised” by the criticism that had been directed at him when we went on a pre-planned leave, after the team had been blanked 5-0 in the T20I series against India.Stead handed over the reins to bowling coach Shane Jurgensen for the following three-match ODI series and took a five-day break, which sparked outrage in New Zealand. Former captain Jeremy Coney, in particular, was scathing in his criticism of the coach and the timing of his leave. Prior to the T20Is against India, New Zealand had been whitewashed 3-0 across the Tasman Sea in the longest format.ALSO READ: Coney hits out at Stead, NZC defends coach’s leave“I was really surprised,” Stead said ahead of the first Test against India. “I mean New Zealand Cricket and I have talked about this for a long time, looking after the staff and the players we have. So, we did that and I know New Zealand Cricket are doing what we think is right for our us as people, first and foremost, so we did it. I was very surprised.”I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion. I guess what Jeremy Coney says about me doesn’t necessarily have relevance to the way we go about things. So, yeah…”New Zealand cricket had earlier backed Stead’s pre-planned holiday, citing workload issues. In Stead’s absence, New Zealand clinched the ODI series 3-0. After sweeping the ODI series, captain Kane Williamson opted not to read too much into Stead’s leave and reiterated that it was a pre-planned one.Stead said that he now felt refreshed following the break and is plotting an upturn in New Zealand’s Test fortunes after their 3-0 drubbing in Australia.”It was good to spend time with the family,” he said. I know that. Look, I have had four-five days and I’m back to work planning for this Test series now. Again, the distractions don’t need to be there. So, we have to move on and look ahead to the India Test series now. “

Fakhar Zaman, who was nursing an injured knee before the tour, batted for the tourists before stumps on the first day in Benoni

The Report by Liam Brickhill19-Dec-2018The touring Pakistanis eased into the first playing day in South Africa, against a young but talented CSA Invitation XI riding on captain Marques Ackerman’s hundred to declare at 318 for 7 in Benoni. There was a wicket apiece for Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali, while Faheem Ashraf picked up two and Azhar Ali’s part-time legbreaks yielded 2 for 19.With Pakistan sweating on the match fitness of Shadab Khan and Mohammad Abbas, neither bowled a ball on the fist day. Opening batsman Fakhar Zaman is also not quite at 100%, having aggravated a knee injury picked up in October, but he came out to bat in Pakistan’s innings, suggesting he may have completed his rehabilitation sooner than expected. He and Imam-ul-Haq successfully negotiated the 18 balls bowled in Pakistan’s innings before stumps.In the absence of Shadab and Abbas, the four-pronged pace attack of Amir, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan and Faheem was given a good workout, all bowling between 12 and 16 overs each. They went about their work watched by around a hundred spectators at the ground.Led by the 22-year-old Ackerman, the Invitation XI team are all 25 or under, but there is certainly talent within their youthful ranks. Opening batsman Joshua Richards narrowly missed out on a hundred the day before his 20th birthday, scoring 98, but Ackerman went to his own century in the 85th over of the day, declaring the innings immediately after he raised his ton by punching Amir through extra cover for his 14th four.With scores of 100, 118, 132, 1, 4* and 145 leading up to this game, Richards was within touching distance of his fifth hundred in seven innings when he fell against the run of play earlier. Richards and Neil Brand had collected 87 runs in an opening stand that stretched to 26 overs before Brand was trapped in front of his stumps for 38 by Amir.Having perhaps bowled a little within themselves in the morning session, Pakistan’s quicks operated with a little more vim after lunch, and Tshepang Dithole was caught behind off Faheem soon after the interval. Matthew Breetzke, who was named South Africa Under-19 Cricketer of the Year at CSA’s annual awards in June, added a breezy 24 from 28 deliveries with three fours and a six before he aimed a wild swipe at Haris Sohail’s left-arm spin and was caught off a top edge at short third man.Ackerman and Richards then came together to add 38 for the fourth wicket, and with Richards closing in on his ton, Azhar was brought on for a twirl. His first delivery caught Richards by surprise, an attempted cut resulting only in an edge that was snaffled by Asad Shafiq.While Pakistan struck repeatedly at the other end, Hasan disturbing Onke Nyaku’s stumps and Faheem quickly repeating the treatment against Rivaldo Moonsamy, Ackerman marched on to his hundred. He got to the mark from the 132nd delivery he faced, prompting the declaration before Imam and Fakhar ended the first day without further drama.

Matthew Wade was out cheaply yet again as Tasmania collapsed from 2 for 100 to 9 for 150 against Queensland in Hobart

Daniel Brettig05-Nov-2017
Matthew Wade brought out the paddle sweep frequently•Getty Images

Australia’s incumbent Test wicketkeeper Matthew Wade was out cheaply for the second time in the Sheffield Shield match between Tasmania and Queensland at Bellerive Oval, as the Tigers fell in a heap while trying to set the Bulls an adequate fourth innings target in a low-scoring affair.Tasmania’s seamers had been able to dismiss the visitors five runs short of their own first innings tally, the wickets shared between Jackson Bird, Sam Rainbird, Tom Rogers and Gabe Bell. However after Alex Doolan and Jordan Silk put on 80 for the second wicket to push the Tigers into a seemingly strong position, a clatter of wickets reset the contest.The majority of these were claimed by the experienced swing and seam merchant Luke Feldman, who was aided by Mark Steketee and Michael Neser in facilitating a Tasmanian collapse of 8 for 30. Wade made it as far as 17, but was dismissed when trying to hook Steketee and well caught by Neser, diving forward.Wade’s exit meant he has tallied scores of 1, 6, 9 and 17 in four Shield innings so far, having averaged barely 20 with the bat in 10 Tests since his recall to the Australian team in November last year.

Jake Ball defied cramp and sapping humidity to mark his one-day debut with record figures of 5 for 51, as England snatched an extraordinary 21-run victory in the first ODI against Bangladesh

The Report by Andrew Miller07-Oct-2016 England 309 for 8 (Stokes 101, Buttler 63, Duckett 60) beat Bangladesh 278 (Kayes 112, Shakib 79 Ball 5-51) by 21 runs

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJake Ball defied cramp and sapping humidity to mark his one-day debut with record figures of 5 for 51, as England snatched an extraordinary 21-run victory in the first ODI against Bangladesh at Mirpur.Powered by a brilliant century from Imrul Kayes, and with Shakib Al Hasan providing experienced support in a fifth-wicket stand of 118, Bangladesh appeared to be marching up a mountainous run-chase of 310, and living up to their newly minted reputation as a tough nut to crack in one-day cricket.But then, with victory in sight, Bangladesh suffered a throwback to their fragile old days to squander their last six wickets for 17 runs in 39 balls. The collapse of their resolve mirrored that of the atmosphere at the National Stadium in Mirpur, where thousands of fans had put aside the inconvenience of a kilometre-wide exclusion zone to cheer on a side that has not lost a home ODI series for two years and counting.For more than 91 overs of the 97.5 in the match, the mood in the ground had been akin to a national celebration, as Imrul confirmed the richness of his current form with an astounding display of clean hitting, particularly through the leg side, to take command of what looked certain to be their highest successful run-chase against a senior Test nation.His first scoring shot was the most startling statement of intent of the whole match – a murderous second-ball pull over midwicket off Chris Woakes that embedded itself so deep in an advertising hoarding that an BCB official had to reach through the hole to retrieve it. On his watch, there could be only one winner, as he brought up his hundred from 105 balls with his 11th four, before passing the baton to Shakib, whose volley of five fours and six in 12 balls seemed to have torched the asking-rate.But then, with the requirement a trifling 39 from 52 balls with six wickets still in hand, Shakib suffered a debilitating bout of cramp in his fingers, and, in a jolt of realism that popped the fans’ party mood in a trice, Ball capitalised to stunning effort. The very delivery after receiving treatment from the physio, Shakib miscued a pull to David Willey at midwicket to depart for 79 – and one ball later, the stands were in full panic mode as Mosaddek Hossain was bowled off the splice by a perfect lifting nipbacker.Imrul was still in situ at this stage, but having also cramped up late in his innings, he urgently needed someone else to stay with him and keep the boundaries coming. The captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, was unable to be that man – he guiltily grazed a loose cut to the keeper as Adil Rashid ripped an illegible legbreak out of the rough, moments after planting a seed of doubt with his googly, and the game was as good as over in Rashid’s next over, when Imrul charged out of his crease in desperate need of a boundary, and was stumped off a wide as Rashid speared the ball out of his reach.Next to go was Shafiul Islam – the hero of Bangladesh’s two-wicket win in the 2011 World Cup – who was run out without scoring, and victory was duly sealed from the penultimate ball of Ball’s spell, as Taskin Ahmed grazed an edge through to Jos Buttler, England’s stand-in captain, whose typically powerful 63 from 38 balls had earlier lifted his side to an imposing total of 309 for 8.Jake Ball finished the match and ended with a five-for•Getty Images

Ball himself could barely stand by the end of the match, and he was rightly named as Man of the Match after becoming the first England bowler to claim five wickets on debut. However, the foundations of England’s victory were laid by Ben Stokes, who anchored their innings with his maiden ODI hundred, and Ben Duckett, the day’s second debutant, whose 60 from 78 balls was a vital and mature contribution to an agenda-setting stand of 153.Stokes made 101 from exactly 100 balls – a performance that might pale statistically compared to some of the masterful feats of run-making in England’s ranks in recent months. However, given the brutality of the conditions – the humidity was measured at one stage at 90% – and his previous fallibility against spin, most notably on the tour of Sri Lanka in 2014, it was a formidable performance.It also began in some adversity, as he and Duckett came together following a collapse of 3 for 21 in 31 balls. James Vince had once again looked fluent without entirely convincing in his 16 from 20 balls, and when Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow departed in quick succession, the latter to a third-ball run-out, England were 63 for 3 in the 13th over and in need of some shoring-up.Bangladesh used seven bowlers in all, with the third seamer, Taskin Ahmed, held back until the second half of the innings as Mashrafe leaned heavily and predictably on his quartet of slow men. Aside from their drip-drip accuracy, the speed with which they burned through their overs was especially telling. There was little opportunity to think between deliveries, but Stokes was in the mood to trust his instinct, particularly on the reverse sweep, with which he picked off four of his eight fours.Duckett, meanwhile, was quite content to play the anchorman. After his eye-popping scoring feats for Northamptonshire and the Lions this summer, this was all about bedding into the international arena, and he passed his first test with aplomb.His five fours were timely pressure releases, including one cute scoop over the wicketkeeper’s head off a Taskin short ball, but after reaching his half-century from 63 balls, his battery visibly went flat in the final minutes of his stay. He managed one run from his last nine deliveries before missing a leg-stump full-toss to be bowled round his pads.By the end of their fielding stint, however, Bangladesh were visibly tetchy after letting several crucial chances slip through their fingers – most tellingly, two lives in the space of five balls to Stokes, on 69 and 71 respectively – a low drill to mid-on and an ugly skew to deep cover.Inevitably, the man best placed to cash in in such a moment was Buttler, who arrived at the crease with eight overs remaining and a licence to go loco, but it was a tribute to the efforts of his team-mates higher up the order that he was initially forced to rein in his aggression.In fact, it wasn’t until the back end of the 47th over that Buttler flicked on the Beast Mode. After 25 runs, including a solitary boundary, from his first 26 deliveries, he signalled his change of tempo with consecutive sixes off Shakib, before two more fours and an inside-out six over extra cover off Shafiul completed a startling 33-ball fifty, which became 63 from 38 balls all told.It wasn’t apparent then, but that switch of tempo would prove to be the difference between the sides in the final analysis. That, of course, and the temperament required just to get the job done, come what may. Bangladesh have come a long, long way in the past couple of years, and their proud home record is still intact for now. But, much as was the case in their devastating collapse against India at the World T20, there remains a fragility at their core that can crack in an instant.

It may be only be a conditioning camp, with as many as 27 players in the mix, but for Al-Amin Hossain and Sohag Gazi, being called up to be among them is a huge relief

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2015It may be only be a conditioning camp, with as many as 27 players in the mix, but for Al-Amin Hossain and Sohag Gazi, being called up to be among them is a huge relief. Out of contention for roughly the same time, both bowlers now have a platform from which to get back into the Bangladesh team for the upcoming Test series against Australia in October.The training camp will mainly focus on fitness. Skill work will begin from September 5. The National Cricket League first-class competition is also being preponed to get the Test players some game time ahead of the Australia series.Al-Amin hasn’t played international cricket since November 2014. So this is a chance for him to reconnect. He had been part of the World Cup squad, but was sent home midway through due to disciplinary issues. Since his last international outing, he has taken 12 first-class wickets at an average of 32.58 in five games.Although Bangladesh struggled for penetration in their pace attack in the Tests against Pakistan, India and South Africa, Al-Amin was kept out. He is taking the training camp as a sign of being “in the selectors’ plans” again. He had also been part of the Players of National Interest (PONI) camp recently in the National Cricket Academy.”I am feeling great, a lot relieved,” Al-Amin said. “I was in the PONI camp but I didn’t feel really sure of my future. But getting called in this camp means at least now I am in the selectors’ plans. I can work on my fitness, and I am getting a chance to prove myself.”Spending the last six months out of the national side, he said he has understood that the team’s composition is changing and the competition within it has gone up as a result of recent victories.”I have seen both sides [being in and out of the squad] in a very short span of time. I learned a lot. I also understand the team is not what it was a year ago. There’s a lot of competition. I have to prove my worth,” he said.Gazi’s story is similar. He served a short suspension at international cricket for an illegal action, got the clean chit from the ICC in February this year and has already played a T20 for Bangladesh in July. He also felt the call-up to the training camp was a sign that he remains in contention for the national side, but felt hard done by having to sit out most of the 2014-15 season.”I was disappointed,” Gazi told . “I played for the senior team recently but from there I was nowhere. It is hard to explain this feeling. It is good to be called up to the camp. I can tell myself now that I am in contention.”It is hard to assess fitness after just one T20. But I will improve my fitness, which goes down when you are out of the team. This is a chance to make it better. The National Cricket League is coming up so I will use the conditioning camp for my own benefit. Doing well in the domestic circuit will surely bring me more opportunities. “It is, however, likely that both players could end up playing for Bangladesh A in their African tour in October and November, the same time as the Australia tour.