Tamim’s return not the most successful
Bangladesh teammates Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Tamim Iqbal returned to action with the BPL. Tamim had sat out the series against Afghanistan and India but could not make hay on his return to action in the BPL. The opener had hit 141 in the final of last season's BPL but his poor form with the bat continued today following the dismal World Cup.
Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe had last played in a competitive match during Bangladesh's last World Cup fixture at Lord's on July 5. The Bangladesh team went through an unforeseen passage with the country's cricket in an upheaval during this period where Mashrafe was absent. Today the paceman returned to the field to captain Dhaka Platoon in the BBPL, exactly 159 days after the match at Lord's.
His team did not get off to a good start however as highly fancied Platoon were restricted to 134 for 9 in 20 overs. Unlike Mashrafe, who had missed the series in Sri Lanka due to an injury he suffered a day before the team departed for the tour, Tamim had featured in both the Sri Lanka series as captain of the side and also tried to apply himself in the National Cricket League (NCL) since the World Cup. The left-hander had however opted out of the home series against Afghanistan and the series in India.
He might have hoped that having been able to reflect on his batting during the down time will pay dividends but failed to get amongst the runs in Platoons' opening match today, falling for just five runs to an Abu Jayed delivery.
Mashrafe however lent a solid hand to the team's score, contributing with a 10-ball 18 that included two sixes. There was speculation regarding him continuing cricket after the World Cup. The ODI captain was the only cricketer from the A-plus category who did not get a team in the first four rounds of the draft for the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL) T20 tournament. He was only captured by Dhaka Platoon in the eighth round of the draft. As the most successful captain in BPL history, all eyes will be on him to see how he can make his new team shine at this BPL.
Comments