Courtney Walsh tips Mustafizur for 'big role' in World Cup despite injury concern

Ex-West Indies quick Walsh revealed that the coaching staff are doing all they can to help Mustafizur, Rubel Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin regain match-readiness before the tournament gets underway on Thursday, 30 May.

Mustafizur, who is set to take part in his maiden Men's Cricket World Cup, sprained his ankle whilst loosening up for a Dhaka Premier League game on 10 April, and Rubel has been sidelined for the majority of the domestic competition with a side strain. All-rounder Saifuddin has been suffering from tennis elbow, and has been been forced to field in the ring of late in an attempt to prevent exacerbating the injury.

Overworking Mustafizur in the build up to this summer's tournament is a concern for Walsh, as the 23-year-old left-armer, who averages an excellent 21.71 with the ball in ODIs, prepares to make a comeback for Bangladesh's imminent tri-series against Ireland and the West Indies, commencing on 5 May. "A fully fit Mustafizur can win games for you but we have to have him as fit as possible," Walsh said.

"We have a bit of time on our side. My concern is that I hope we don't over-rush him and use him too much in Ireland, and he is not fresh for the World Cup."

Ushering the rest of Bangladesh's pace arsenal towards full match fitness is also high on Walsh's agenda, as strength in depth will be vital given Mustafizur's recent injury struggles. "Out of the five we have three injured – Fizz, Rubel and Saifuddin, who has the tennis elbow," he said.

"(Mustafizur) has got a big role to play in the World Cup, once he is fit, but I don't think we rely on any one player. Fizz hasn't been as sharp since his injury, and he keeps picking up slight niggles. We need to get them back into bowling, within the right frame of mind, and be sharp enough to do a bit of bowling in Ireland and be ready for the World Cup.

"We have Taskin Ahmed, Khaled Ahmed and Shafiul Islam as well (as back-up). You can probably say that we have them just in case we need them."

Walsh also commented on the potential conditions in England during the summer, citing 'smart' cricket as his side's best chance of being successful on 'docile' and 'flat' wickets. "The World Cup is going to be a long tournament. There are going to be some good cricket wickets, which are batting-friendly. We have to be intelligent, and try to execute well," he added.

"We have to read the conditions and the surfaces we play. Some places the ball might swing more than others. We have to assess when we get there. Most of the wickets will be docile and flat. We have to work on our variations and execution.

"Everybody studies one another these days, so they know our strengths and weaknesses. Likewise, we also know theirs. So it is about execution on the day, and try to be smart," he said.

Bangladesh's next match is against West Indies on 7 May in Ireland, their first of four matches (and a potential final) in the 2019 Ireland Tri-Nation Series.