'Locals need roles to perform'
If someone tends to pick some moments from the Dhaka leg of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the way off-spinner Mahedi Hasan bamboozled the dashing Brendon McCullum deserves a place on the list.
Former New Zealand captain McCullum was totally outthought when he came down the track to negotiate a flat length ball only to give the wicketkeeper a world of time to dismantle the stumps.
The 22-year-old Comilla Victorians off-spinner however was not the only local player who shone in the Dhaka leg; a number of players stepped up to quieten the noise surrounding the poor performances of local recruits in the first leg in Sylhet. Local cricketers produced many moments to watch during the Dhaka leg; it was particularly nice to watch some impressive performances from young players like wicketkeeper-batsman Zakir Hasan, Ariful Haque and Hossain Ali.
The last day of the Dhaka leg probably got the best out of the local players in the two exciting games on Tuesday as Mahmudullah Riyad and Mushfiqur Rahim hit half-centuries, Shakib Al Hasan bagged a five-wicket haul, Ariful showed real big-hitting ability and some good spells of pace bowling from Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Rubel Hossain and Abu Jayed.
Curiousity had surrounded the forlorn performance of Sylhet Sixers icon player Sabbir Rahman, but the right-hander found his groove with a 41-run innings against Rajshahi Kings and then hit a 49-ball 70 against Rangpur Riders, while Soumya Sarker has notched 30-plus scores in three games out of six.
Imrul Kayes may not have scored big knocks but the opener of table-toppers Comilla Victorians contributed with three 40-plus and one 30-plus score in six matches.
In the bowling department Abu Jayed is leading the list with 12 wickets while Abu Hider is close behind with 11 wickets. Champion all-rounder Shakib might not have yet shone with the bat but he has starred with his left-arm spin and captured 10 wickets. Mashrafe grabbed seven wickets and provided ample evidence that the T20I retiree was no slouch in the shortest format.
When it comes to all-rounders, one must say that Mohammad Saifuddin proved that he has got the potential to serve the nation.
"You must see that when the local players got a role most of them tried to grab it. If you don't give them a role, how they will perform? As a coach I so far tried to give my local players a role and they gave me the return. Look at Saikat [Dhaka Dynamites batsman Mosaddek Hossain], he is a good player but hardly got any role in the team. Yes, there is a difference in power-hitting between foreign players and local players, but otherwise there is nothing wrong with the local players," opined Comilla Victorian coach Mohammad Salahuddin.
The BPL caravan has already reached Chittagong and Salahuddin believed that the local players can continue their good showing if they get their fair share of chances.