Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan arrived in the capital last night to bolster Abahani ahead of today's crucial Dhaka Premier League encounter against Prime Bank Cricket Club at BKSP.

Ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan already joined Abahani to make an immediate impact as his all-round performance helped his side to win the match against Prime Doleshwar in the previous round, and now the inclusion of his Kolkata Knight Riders teammate gives Abahani coach Khaled Mahmud great hope for the rest of the season.

“Actually we have a problem with our bowling, for which we lost at least three matches, so a bowling all-rounder can make life easy for us, but still Pathan's experience will help us a lot. Besides batting I hope he can also contribute with his bowling,” said Mahmud. The 33-year old cricketer from Gujarat has so far played 57 ODIs and 22 T20Is and has considerable experience of playing the Indian Premier League, scoring 361 runs at an average of 72.2 in the recently concluded edition.

Abahani is standing at sixth position with 10 points from nine matches and their main target is now to confirm the Super League birth. “Our immediate goal is to qualify for the Super League but our main target is to become champions. You see eight teams now have 12 to 10 points, so everybody has a chance,” he added.

Prime Bank has also ten points. In the day's other matches, Prime Doleshwar will take on Gazi Group at Mirpur and Kalabagan Cricket Academy meet Cricket Coaching School at Fatullah.