‘He did well with bat and ball’: Tamim praises Shakib’s BPL performance

Fortune Barishal skipper Tamim Iqbal said that national team teammate Shakib Al Hasan did really well, although he picked Shoriful Islam and Towhid Hridoy as standout performers of the 10th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).  

Tamim, who was adjudged player of the tournament after finishing as the edition's highest run-getter with 492 runs in 15 games, led Barishal to their maiden BPL title on Friday with a six-wicket win over defending champions Comilla Victorians in the final in Mirpur. 

According to Tamim, Bangladesh pacer Shoriful Islam and batter Towhid Hridoy deserved to be mentioned separately for their performances in the BPL. 

 "If you ask me about performances then there are a couple of names. If you think about Shoriful, I think he bowled extremely well. It is unfortunate that they [Durdanto Dhaka] did not win," Tamim said during the press conference following the final yesterday. 

Even though Durdanto Dhaka could only manage to win one of their 12 matches this season, pace spearhead Shoriful ended as the tournament's top wicket-taker with 22 scalps to his name. 

Meanwhile, Hridoy, who could score only 15 in the final against Tamim's Barishal, ended the tournament as the second-highest run-getter. The young right-handed batter scored 462 runs in 14 innings and was also the first to score a ton this season. 

"Towhid Hridoy is the second-highest scorer and his impact was massive. Every time he scored runs, he had an impact in all those Comilla's [Victorians] matches," Tamim added. 

Tamim then also praised Shakib's performance, mentioning how well he did in the latter part of the tournament. 

Shakib faced a lot of stick from fans for underperforming at the start of the BPL owing to an eye issue. The champion all-rounder made grounds eventually, finishing the tournament as the second-highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps and scoring 255 runs in 13 matches, including two fifties. 

"There are a lot of others who did well. Shakib has done well with bat and ball. He did not start well but did quite well in the middle and at the latter part of the BPL. So, there are a number of players who played really well. But I must mention the names of these two players, Towhid Hridoy and Shoriful Islam, separately," Tamim said. 

A match between Tamim's Barishal and Shakib's Rangpur in the league phase of the tournament gained much attention from the media and fans. Shakib had celebrated with a raised fist after taking the wicket of Tamim, and in reply, Tamim mimicked that celebration later in that game when Shakib was dismissed. 

Barishal lost that league match against Rangpur but won when the two sides met again in Qualifier 2.