Bangladesh women’s cricket team will head to New Zealand without their key fast bowler, Marufa Akter. The pacer has been sidelined for the upcoming tour, which includes three ODIs and three T20Is, as she continues to manage an ankle injury. The squad is scheduled to depart from Dhaka on December 4.
Marufa is currently observing a four-week period of bed rest. Medical reports indicate she is expected to begin walking again by the first week of December. The injury involves bone erosion at the base of the fifth metatarsal in her right foot, a condition that recently worsened, necessitating the use of an Aircast boot.
Team management decided against rushing her recovery after an injection she received before the Australia tour failed to provide the intended relief, leading to her exclusion from the tour’s final match. An official close to the board’s women’s unit emphasized that as one of their premier players, the priority is to ensure she returns only after achieving a full recovery. But the treatment did not produce the expected response, understands that she had received an injection ahead of the recent tour of Australia. She is unavailable for the tour of New Zealand as we don’t want to rush her considering she is one of our premier cricketers and we need to make sure she returns back after recovering fully,” a top BCB official working closely with the board’s women’s unit told.
The official explained that the decision was made to prevent further recurrence of pain. They want to ensure she can bowl at her full strength without discomfort in the future, noting that rushing back before total healing would hinder her ability to perform effectively. Consequently, they have opted to grant her as much recovery time as necessary to address the issue definitively.
