The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has developed an injury management policy (IMP) for players, especially pace bowlers, under which they will try to keep them fighting fit throughout the year.

The team management has started implementing the policy from the ongoing series against the visiting Zimbabwe. They made a couple of changes in the playing XI in the second fixture of the three-match ODI series against the tourists at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

The BCB dropped fast-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin despite his jaw-dropping performance with both the bat and ball. The pacer, who returned to the fold after a long injury lay-off, showcased a breathtaking display that was praised by all. The board also picked pace bowler Al Amin Hossain alongside Shafiul Islam,  dropping two pacers like Mustafizur Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin.

The shuffles have been done as part of the injury management policy. The pacers have a tendency to pick up injuries while playing on the trot and so the team management did not take any risks ahead of the next third-phase tour of Pakistan.

Bangladesh are scheduled to travel to Pakistan in the first week of April. They will play the last Test of the two-Test series a part of the ICC’s World Test Championship, before playing a one-off ODI on April 3.

The board has not picked any new players for the second ODI match against Zimbabwe on home soil. Though the team could accommodate young players like Afif Hossain or Mohammad Naim Sheikh, it is learnt from BCB insiders that the hosts wanted to secure the series with the last remaining match in hand.

However, if the fate of the series is to be decided in the third match, the team management will take a calculated risk of including at least a fresh player from their repertoire. The BCB is yet to declare their ODI squad for the third and last encounter of the three-match series.

It is thought that the performance of Bangladesh in the last ICC Cricket World Cup-2020 in England and Wales  was not up to the mark because of injury problems in the team. The Tigers went to England one month before the extravaganza. They had played the Tri-series against West Indies and Ireland and lifted the trophy as an unbeaten champion. After that, they held a 10-day practice camp in England before participating in the world cup, where they launched their campaign on a winning note by beating South Africa in their opening match.

But injuries to key players hindered the progress of Bangladesh in that tournament, which ended in a disappointing manner for the Tigers. The management do not want a repetition of the same problem. So, they devised a long-term plan keeping the next big ICC events in mind—there are two world cups coming up in Australia in 2020 and India in 2021.

In addition, the Tigers have many games lined up abroad for which they need to produce a quality pace-bowling arsenal. So, they are trying to rejuvenate the pace bowlers, giving them much-needed breaks to ensure their best performance.