Mirpur abuzz with stars
With the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) slated to begin in two days' time, the Academy Ground adjacent to Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium was buzzing with activities as the franchises continued their scheduled practice sessions.
The teams were getting their players acclimatised with the setup, with international stars such as Faf du Plessis, set to feature in his first-ever BPL stint, joining Comilla Victorians practice session yesterday while established stars such as Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah Riyad and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza continued their grind ahead of the start of the tournament on January 21.
However, the month-long tournament will be a huge challenge due to growing concerns over Omicron variant of coronavirus. There were already suggestions that there could be more cases in the coming days.
"We started the mandatory Covid-19 tests of the players and support staff of the BPL teams yesterday and so far, we have got a few positive cases," BCB chief physician Debashish Chowdhury told The Daily Star.
With all the six franchises undergoing their practice sessions in the same ground, albeit in different times of the day, it remains to be seen how the managed bio-secure environment can keep the tournament running smoothly.
In the morning session, Mashrafe, who had a bout with back injuries, pulled a muscle during while bowling with a longer run-up. The former ODI captain may well miss the opening fixture of his side against Khulna Tigers but the arrival of international stars such as Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas and Isuru Udana should soften some of the blow.
Du Plessis joining Comilla's practice session was the pick of the international attraction and the South African batted at the nets with gusto, the sound of his bat hinting at the incoming demolition.
Later, Du Plessis was seen having a long chat with coach Mohammad Salahuddin and veteran Imrul Kayes. Former Bangladesh head coach Steve Rhodes, who will be working as the team's advisor, was happy to be back and working with Salahuddin.
"Salahuddin, as you all know, has been a very successful coach and not just in the BPL, but also in bringing along some tremendous cricketers. He is the head coach I'm here to assist, to help, not just the players, but the coaches as well. Hoping I can share my experience and my knowledge of cricket. I got on really well with Salahuddin. I think it's going to work very, very well. It's important that players know the head coach is Salahuddin," Rhodes said.
He was, however, keen to not shy away from controversy relating to his departure as head coach following 2019 World Cup.
"After departure from certain jobs or posts, people have opinions but I don't really want to get too involved with that. All I can say is how pleased I am to be back among people of Bangladesh," Rhodes dictated at the end of Cumilla's session yesterday.
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