Mashrafe Mortaza likely to play Bangladesh's World Cup opener despite injury

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza is most likely to play in his side's opening match of the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup against South Africa despite a hamstring strain. 

The 35-year-old picked up the hamstring injury during Bangladesh's World Cup warm-up match against Virat Kohli-led India in Cardiff on Tuesday. 

Reflecting on the same, Mortaza said that he was trying to bowl an extended spell against Kohli and Indian opener Rohit Sharma in the sixth over when he ended up getting hurt. 

"A lot of times in such cases, I face trouble bowling the first one or two overs. Once I get through that, I don't face any more problems. I also wasn't facing any problems today [on Tuesday].But I pulled a hamstring during the sixth over. I could have stopped after four or five overs but Rohit and Kohli were looking to score runs quickly during that period. I felt that I needed to practice bowling in such a situation," ESPNcricinfo quoted Mortaza as saying to the Dhaka based bdnews24. 

After picking up the injury, Mortaza spent half of the India innings in the dressing room, with vice-captain Shakib Al Hasan guiding the side. Though the skipper finished with economical figures of 0 for 23 in six overs he bowled, he did not come to bat during Bangladesh's innings as his side fell 95-run short of the 360-run target.

Despite the injury, Mortaza is expected to lead Bangladesh when they open their 2019 World Cup campaign against South Africa on Sunday.