The much-talked-about Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2015 arranged on the basis of Franchise representing 6 out of 8 divisional Head Quarters of Bangladesh has reached a very interesting stage where favorites have emerged well clear of the others.
Three teams Comilla Victorians (CV), Barisal Bulls (BB) and Rangpur Riders (RR) have almost confirmed berths for the next round. The position for the fourth qualifier is still open though Dhaka Dynamites is in a better position.
Two of the stronger teams Chittagong Vikings and Sylhet Superstars have to play out of their skins in their last few matches to qualify.
BPL Points Table (02/12/2015)
The most outstanding feature of BPL 2015 is the absence of Australian, Indian and New Zealand Players. There are very few English players .Pakistanis are in huge numbers and are followed by West Indians and Sri Lankans.
We cannot say that Bangladeshi Cricketers are being exposed to high quality international contests .The wickets are behaving in uncertain ways and most of the matches are low scoring.
Comilla Victorians owned by Royal Sporting Club and led by Bangladesh T20 and ODI Captain enigmatic Mashrafe Bin Mortaza with 8 points from 6 matches is leading the table as on December 3 with 8 points and higher net run rates.
They have not playing star cricketers. But the inspirational leadership of Mashrafe and his ability of squeezing the best out of his charge have made them win 4 out of 6 matches they have played so far. They have produced a new star performer Abu Haidar Rony who now jointly tops the highest wicket taker (12) position with Shakib Al Hasan.
A lesser known Pakistani Ashar Zaidi roped in at the last minute for non-availability of Andre Russel has impacted with his all round performances in winning matches. They were affected from Samuels’s departure after few matches for his national team duty and star spinner Sunil Narine suspension for suspect bowling action. The injury of budding national pacer Kamrul Islam Rabbi has also affected them.
However Sri Lankan pacer Nuwan Kulashekera is one of their bowling strength. The addition of Pakistani national team players Shoaib Malik and Ahmed Shehzad has bolstered Victorians.
Captain Mashrafe is leading from the front. We will not be surprised to see Victorians appearing in the final and winning the trophy. Mashrafe was member of the winning team of the first two versions.
Barisal Bulls owned by Axiom Group has also achieved 8 points playing 5 matches is trailing behind Victorians for net run rate. Cool and composed Mahamudullah Riad is also leading from the front like Mashrafe.
Of the local players Al Amin Hossain is delivering regularly. He became the only player to have claimed hat trick this season against Sylhet Superstars. Taijul Islam and Rony Talukdar are also playing reasonably well. But star performer Sabbir Rahman is yet to strike form.
Of the foreign recruits Mohammad Sami, Kevon Cooper and Evin Lewis are driving the Bulls. Master blaster Chris Gayle is expected to join soon. Double Bs will be strong challenger to this year’s championship for its batting depth and balanced all round attack.
ICC best all-rounder of all formats Shakib Al Hasan led Rangpur Riders owned by 1 Sports Limited is the strongest side on paper. They have won 4 out of 6 matches they have played so far.
Shakib was suspended for arguing with umpire for one match, which incidentally they lost. His all-round performance as expected is one of their keys to success. Their prized possession budding youngster Soumya has finally come of his own in the last match. They have the better overseas recruits especially the match winners in Misbah Ul Haque, Daren Sammy and Thisara Perera.
Addition of Wahab Riaz at some stage will also strengthen their bowling attack, which already has Shakib, Arafat Sunny and Saqlain (left arm spinning trio) alongside Afghan star all-rounder Mohammad Nabi. According to many Rangpur Riders have the potential to going all the way?
Dhaka Dynamites owned by BEXIMCO Group is the franchise, which in previous years as Dhaka Gladiators won the championship. In matters of recruited players they are among the strongest.
Local Icon Nasir Hossain has the reputation of one of the great finisher of limited over cricket. They have Mustafizur Raman the mystery bowler of Bangladesh who just was named in the ICC ODI team of 2015. Among the locals all-rounders Farhad Reza, Abul Hasan and inform spinner Musharraf Hossain are leading performers .
Of the foreign recruits, Kumara Sangakkara is their prized cricketer. This just retired batsman was until recently among the top batsman of all formats in international cricket. He is also the captain of the team. Yasir Shah is star spinner.
Dhaka Dynamites is the only team which has three players named in ICC best teams of 2015 (Mustafiz, Sangakkara and Yasir Shah). They also have Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Khan, Nasir Jamshed and Ryan ten Doeschate named in the recruits. They are however not yet confirmed of qualifying for the second phase.
Star-studded Chittagong Vikings owned by DBL Group have failed to live up to the reputation so far losing 5 of the 7 matches they have played. They have neither batted well as a team nor bowled to their full potential. Their awe full fielding has led them down in tight contests. Their icon player Tamim is the highest run getter. Among the locals Anamul Haque and Taskin Ahmed have not performed consistently.
Shafiul and Ziaur Rahman had marginal successes. Their strength lies in Mohammad Amir the fallen hero of Pakistan Cricket. Tillakaratne Dilshan is yet to deliver consistently.
Akaml brothers joining late are yet to deliver. Saeed Ajmal looks shadow of his past. Vikings are on the edge. They have to win all its remaining group matches to qualify for next phase. If they do they will have a serious crack for the trophy.
Alif Group owned Sylhet Super Star captain Musfiqur Rahim must consider them unlucky for their present position at the bottom. They lost the first three matches (two by 1 run each and the third by 6 runs). They should have won all three if they could only keep their cool.
Apart from Rahim Mohammad Shahid performed consistently. They could not recruit top local players. Of their foreign recruits, the English professionals Joshua Cobb and Ravi Bopara had some issues in registration.
Shahid Afridi and Sohail Tanvir could not join earlier for national duties. Having lost 5 of the 6 matches they are on the brink .They have to win all of their remaining 4 matches which at this moment appear highly unlikely.
Substandard Umpiring and poorly prepared wickets are features of BPL3 so far.
However, there have been some mouthwatering contests. Some young local bowlers performed but local batsmen excepting few have mostly disappointed. We are not sure that the wickets have been ideal for good T20 cricket so far.
By the time most of you read this the situation would obviously changes after two matches scheduled for the day. Top dogs Barisal Bulls plays Ranpur Riders in the first match.
Team winning will 100% assure of advancing further. In the second match Comilla Victorians play Chittagong Vikings which is a must win game for the Vikings to have a real chance of getting through.
BDST: 1556 HRS, DEC 03, 2015
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