Packaging there, cricket not quite

The first Dhaka leg of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL) ended on Saturday after four days of double-headers at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur and the show moves to Chattogram from tomorrow. The cricket in the Dhaka phase was distinctly underwhelming and of a standard lower than that seen in previous editions, but there was a positive in that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) did manage to raise broadcasting standards. 

None of the eight matches so far have been edge-of-the-seat thrillers, which is the biggest selling point of the T20 format. Most matches, except the ones on Friday, were played in front of sparse crowds in Mirpur and that perhaps has a lot to do with the lack of star power in this edition, which the BCB chose to hold on their own steam without the involvement of the franchises seen in previous editions due to a dispute with the latter. While previous editions boasted players like Steve Smith, David Warner, AB de Villiers and Evin Lewis, the biggest foreign names in this edition so far are Andre Russell and Mohammad Amir. Added to that have been low scores on good batting pitches and the common epidemic of dropped catches. 

There has been a silver lining -- in the absence of foreign star power local players have stepped up. Chattogram Challengers’ Imrul Kayes has ended the first leg as the joint highest scorer along with teammate Chadwick Walton. There have been fine batting performances from youngster Mohammad Naim for Rangpur Rangers, while Mosaddek Hossain and Mohammad Mithun have enhanced their reputations for Sylhet Thunder. And there has been a welcome return to form for Dhaka Platoon’s star opener Tamim Iqbal after a prolonged lean patch for Bangladesh, while Dhaka’s Anamul Haque has also shown some promising form.

Taking a bit of the gloss off that silver lining has been the generally poor quality of bowling and fielding, with dropped catches continuing to be a feature of Bangladesh’s flagship T20 league. In that light, apart from the aforementioned performers, it is even more alarming that there have been low-scoring matches on a good batting strip in Mirpur.

It is all the more unfortunate because the pictures being beamed across the world have definitely increased in standard since previous editions. There had been much dissatisfaction about poor broadcasting in previous seasons -- whether in picture quality, graphics and stats errors, a lack of state-of-the-art equipment through which other major T20 leagues attract audiences.

Real Impact, who are running the show, is using 32 cameras for the special edition to mark the 100th anniversary of father of the nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. There are around 80 people working in the team from Australia, UK, Canada, Sri Lanka, India and also from Bangladesh.

In the last edition, surprisingly, there were no hotspot, snickometer -- creating a lot of confusion regarding decision referrals -- and ultra-edge was introduced well into the tournament after much hue and cry. But thankfully, Real Impact this time is equipped with all the support systems for DRS and things have been smoother.

“Last time there were some shortcomings but this time we are well prepared. It has been appreciated by anyone who is watching the match,” Real Impact managing director Rajiv Sabharwal told The Daily Star.

A lot of effort seems to have gone into producing a cricket spectacle, but it now remains to be seen whether the cricket can match the package.