Commandos earn kudos

The Bangladesh cricket team earned praises from their trainers and instructors for showing courage, mental and physical toughness and the ability to learn quickly in the commando training now being held at the Army School of Infantry & Tactics in Sylhet.
They (cricketers) are learning everything very quickly. To be frank, we never thought they will do it so easily. Really they are quick learners, Lt Col Sirajul Islam, an officer involved in the short-term training, told reporters on Wednesday.
The army officers were taken by surprise when some of the cricketers did the job more adroitly than an ideal commando. For example, Sakib al Hasan climbed up and down eight hills in just 15 minutes with a 10-pound rucksack on his back on Wednesday in the Tiger Chase course, which according to the officers is one minute less than the timing of a real commando.
A commando needs to carry 30 pounds in his rucksack plus heavy arms weighing not less than 10 pounds during the same course, still Sakibs effort earned a praise. Army commandos earn the skill with six months training. On the other hand, the cricketers are here only for a week, said Lt Col Sirajul.


We have designed this course for the cricketers based on their demand for fitness. It is slightly different than the course for the army. I hope this course will help them a lot, he said.
They have enjoyed the course thoroughly and so did we. Hopefully, you will see its reflection on the field, said Major Ashek, another instructor.
Initially, we were a bit scared. Some of us thought we might not do everything properly, but in the end we did everything well. It gave us a lot of confidence. We have got a feeling that if we try everything is possible, said Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful.
The commando camp ends today.