<i>Changes in the wind</i>

Biman paceman Shafiul Islam had a fantastic season in the Premier League taking 30 wickets that earned him a call-up to the national squad. PHOTO: FILE

The Ispahani Tea Premier Division Cricket League that finished on Monday has been the most entertaining and enthralling in recent past. It was so close this time that the title was eventually decided on the last ball of the 'virtual final' match and ironically, the team that lost that match, not only had to relinquished the title but also had to be content with a third-place finish.
The league was entertaining because there were many performers with the ball and the bat, not just a handful of national stars. On the contrary, it was those out of limelight that stole the show in many instances.
Abahani's two openers Imrul Kayes and Rony Talukder sit pretty at the top of the run-getters list with 572 and 562 runs respectively from 16 matches. Both scored two centuries and averaged in the mid-thirties. The next three are relatively unheralded names in Bangladesh cricket, Uttam Sarker of CCS, Mohammad Zahid of Kalabagan and Nazmul Hossain of CCS. Former ICL-er and Gazi Tank batsman Shahriar Nafees had a splendid comeback season scoring 502 runs in 10 matches averaging at 55.77 which earned him a recall to the national squad. Also retuning was another ICL-er Aftab Ahmed who chipped in with valuable knocks collecting 461 runs at an average of 38.41 and played a big role in Mohammedan winning the title. But when one considers average, there is none better than Pakistani Abdur Razzaq who amassed 459 runs from 7 matches at a staggering rate of 65.57.
Abdur Razzaq was to many the performer of the season, lighting up the league with his hurricane knocks, after coming late into the side. But he eventually had to bow down to his compatriot Navedul Hasan who stole the show in the last few overs of the Abahani-Mohammedan match to ultimately decide the title.
A very concerning fact that came out of this league was the poor performance of bowlers of the national squad. Only three of them made it into the top ten. Mahbubul Alam and Enamul Haque ended in joint tenth position capturing 22 wickets each. On top of the bowlers' list however are two Biman bowlers Elias Sunny and Shafiul Islam with 30 wickets. Shafiul's 30 wickets at an average of 14.9 and a five-wicket haul has earned him his maiden call-up in the national squad. Veteran left-armer Mohammad Rafique features in the second spot taking 29 wickets.
Another factor of concern fir the cricket fans might be the poor form of Bangladesh's stand-in skipper Shakib Al Hasan. Apart from his poor batting and bowling effort, his captaincy too has come under heavy criticism after the way his side, Abahani lost the final match and with it the title. Chief selector of national side Rafiqul Alam though thinks there is nothing to be concerned about Shakib's poor performance: “Form is temporary, but class is permanent. He is a class player, he proved that too many times. I think he will get over this bad patch and appear in his usual self in international matches.” Rafiqul was however satisfied with the performance of most of the other players in the national squad.