Young guns hog spotlight
The home of cricket in Mirpur has become a hub of cricket stars with the arrival of local heroes, foreign players and celebrated coaching staffs from all over the world. The reason is the fourth edition of the BPL that will kick off at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur this afternoon.
Although it is now time for T20 cricket, it seems that the afterglow of the two-match Test series between Bangladesh and England is still mystifying the cricket players and the fans. Times have certainly changed as the attention was mainly on the local heroes despite the presence of some glittering international stars and celebrated coaches like Stuart Law and Dav Whatmore.
Khulna Titans coach Law, a former consultant of the Bangladesh Under-19 team, embraced Mehedi Hasan Miraz -- who announced his entry into the top level with a stupendous bowling performance to spin Bangladesh to a famous Test victory against England -- with a big smile yesterday at the BCB National Academy ground and gave some batting tips.
And questions regarding Bangladesh's Test win came to the fore when Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and West Indies Darren Sammy were talking about the opening match between defending champions Comilla Victorians and Rajshahi Kings.
“Everybody knows it's one of the biggest wins (108-run win against England in the second Test) in Bangladesh's cricket history and as a player I am proud of it. A win always gives you great confidence so I am confident that Bangladesh will play better cricket in Tests,” said Bangladesh limited-overs and Comilla Victorians skipper Mashrafe.
“I watched that Test with a lot of interest. Fantastic win,” said Kings captain Sammy, who also opined that Bangladesh should have won the ODI series against England.
Bangladesh cricket has been going through good times in international cricket and the arrival of some extraordinary talents has wowed the cricketing world. With this development it is expected that the focus will be on local stars during the month-long franchise-based T20 tournament. Mashrafe was also looking forward to his young players defying any pretenders to Comilla's throne.
Pinning hopes on Miraz, who will play for Rajshahi, Mashrafe said: “You can say about our young players like Shanto (Nazmul Hossain) whose recent form is good and Al-Amin who scored nearly 700 runs in the last Dhaka Premier League. There are more, like Saikat (Mosaddek Hossain) and Nahid (Nahiduzzaman) and I am hopeful that these young players will step up and I am looking to them.
“I am excited [with the presence of Miraz]. I told him while we were in the bus that I want something big from him. He is still young but the way he took the responsibility… the way he bowled in the Test series… I am really excited,” said Sammy.
While many young players will try to enter the spotlight during the tournament, a player like Soumya Sarkar will try to get back his batting rhythm.
“I will try to give my best and I am hopeful that 2016 BPL will bring something for me and hope I can give my best,” said the Rangpur Riders batsman. Rangpur will play against Khulna Titans at the same venue in the second match of the opening fixture.
Coach Stuart Law said that he is most excited and hopeful about the 'future superstars' in his team.
Comments