Bangladesh's Mashrafe 'worried' about ankle injury

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza who suffered a bad fall while bowling against Afghanistan in the third and final One-Day International (ODI), hopes his injury is not serious.

But he is "a bit worried" about whether he can be fit in time for the England series, beginning on October 7, reports bdnews24.com.

The pacer dismissed Afghan opener Mohammad Shahzad with the first ball of his second over at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Bangladesh won the match by 14 runs.

But in the next ball, his front foot got tangled with the rear one on his delivery stride and he painfully landed on his ankle.

His team-mates rushed to attend to their captain but Mashrafe got treated on the field and finished his over. He then went off the field for an over and returned to bowl with a shorter run-up.

Mashrafe, who turns 33 on Wednesday, limped his way in and out of the post-match press conference.

"I was kind of having a feeling about the injury since this morning -- anyways, there is a slight swelling. I hope the pain will go away," Mashrafe said on Saturday.

But with the England ODIs just a few days away, he will not get much time to tend to his sore ankle.

"I've hurt this ankle before as well. That is why I am a bit uneasy. It might have been okay if I had 10 days. But we have five or six days to go before the England series. So I am a bit worried. Let's see, I hope there won't be any problem."

Mashrafe's career has been plagued with injuries but he has not picked up any major injury since becoming the captain almost two years ago.

--IANS

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