Mortaza hopeful of overcoming ankle injury for England series

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Bangladesh's captain for the shorter versions of the game, hoped that he will regain full fitness for the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series against England after he sustained an ankle injury in the third ODI against Afghanistan in Dhaka on Saturday (October 1).

"I was kind of having a feeling about the injury since this morning. Anyway, there is a slight swelling. I hope the pain will go away," Mashrafe was quoted as saying by bdnews24.com.

The 32-year-old pacer slipped in his delivery stride while he was about to bowl the second ball of the third over during Afghanistan's innings and received treatment from the physio. Even though Mortaza continued to bowl, his ankle was heavily strapped for the rest of the match.

"I have 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 us see, I hope there won't be any problem."

Bangladesh are slated to play the first of three ODIs against England in Dhaka on October 7.