Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club celebrated their maiden Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League championship with friends through a gala event in the capital.

The event titled 'Celebrating Cricket with Friends' was held at the residence of Bashundhara Group Vice-Chairman and Sheikh Jamal DC President Safwan Sobhan on Friday.

Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hassan Papon graced the programme.
Safwan Sobhan was also present at the programme.

Ahmed Akbar Sobhan in his speech remembered the day when Sheikh Jamal DC lifted the DPL trophy on April 28, the birthday of Sheikh Jamal.

"The day when Sheikh Jamal became champions, it was his birthday also. When Bangladesh beat Pakistan in 1999, it was seen as a surprise. But nothing is surprising now. Bangladesh now beat big teams regularly," he said.

"The leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the BCB president is taking the game to new heights on each passing day. We are also making the biggest sports complex in South Asia. There are cricket, football and hockey grounds in the complex. Every possible game can be played here. I think Bangladesh can take pride in for the complex in the coming days," Ahmed Akbar Sobhan said, adding that his whole family is a sports loving one.

"My family is a sports loving family. We are involved in many disciplines of sports for many years,” he said.

The Bashundhara Group Chairman also announced to give wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan Sohan Tk 25 lakh for his brilliant performance in the tournament.
Sheikh Jamal President Safwan Sobhan said he watched every game of his team during the tournament and thanked the players, officials and coaches for their respective roles.

"I watched every match of Sheikh Jamal. Every match was special for me. For the last five years, we were trying to make a winning team and finally we got the success this year," he said.

"Being president of the club, I am very happy with the success. The directors of our football and cricket teams had tremendously worked hard and we are reaping the benefits of it," Safwan Sobhan added.

BCB President Nazmul Hasan said the Sheikh Jamal club is as close as Abahani and he was happy to see them winning.

"After we came to the BCB, we saw many other teams apart from Abahani and Mohammedan winning the DPL tournaments. It has become a very competitive tournament nowadays. Teams like Gazi Group, Prime Bank and Sheikh Jamal are playing really well over the years," he said.

"Sheikh Jamal and Abahanj are very close to my heart. So, I am very happy to see them winning," Nazmul Hassan added.

Wicketkeeper batsman Nurul thanked Bashundhara Group for their support and hoped to continue similar performance in coming years.

"I will like to thank Bashundhara Group for their continuous support for our team. I have been playing in this team (Sheikh Jamal) for the last four to five years. I think the result is the combined efforts of the players, coaches, officials and also the owners. I hope we will keep getting the similar support in the coming years and we hope Sheikh Jamal will continue showing good performances in coming years," he said.

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club earlier confirmed their title after they defeated Abahani Limited by four wickets during their penultimate super league match at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on April 26.

The top-outfit lost only three matches on their way to becoming champions in the meet and achieved highest 24 points from 15 matches.

The second-placed Legends of Rupganj earned 22 points while Prime Bank Cricket Club gathered 20 points to finish third in the 11-team tournament.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Nurul Hasan was the highest run-getter for Sheikh Jamal in the tournament scoring 483 runs in eight matches at an average of 96.60 while Saif Hassan also made 474 runs in 14 matches.

Their Indian recruit Parvez Rasool was overall second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament finishing with 28 wickets from 15 matches while Sunzamul Islam and Mrittunjoy Chowdhury picked up 19 and 17 wickets respectively.

BDST: 1134 HRS, MAY 21, 2022
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