BPL 2024 to have good wickets and DRS

Providing batting-friendly wickets during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) was on the agenda at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur yesterday as the tournament's technical committee met with the venue managers as well as curators to ensure big scores in order to elevate the entertainment value of the latest edition. 

The 10th edition of the BPL starts on January 19, with defending champions Comilla Victorians taking on Durdanto Dhaka in Mirpur.

Chairman of BPL's technical committee, Roquibul Hasan, spearheaded the discussions and revealed that that the Decision Review System (DRS) will be available right from the start of the tournament. 

"Today, we sat with the venue managers and the curators. It's a three-hour game and people want to see a three-hour game, not a two-hour game. We have tried to relay that information to them so that the wickets this time around are batting-friendly and so that runs can be scored. 

"We have seen runs being scored here. When there were one or two instances when runs weren't being scored, we had questions. It was because of the wickets, batters' failures, and bowlers doing well. We have addressed this," Raqibul told the reporters.

"This time, there will be full DRS right from the start of the tournament," he added.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Grounds Committee chairman Mahbub Anam, who was present at the meeting, walked along the same lines, underlining the importance of having good wickets in the BPL so that the Tigers can use the tournament as proper preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

"T20 is a game for batters, so we would want a lot of runs. We will try to prepare wickets similar to the ones that are prepared for ICC events, keeping in mind the upcoming ICC T20I World Cup," Mahbub told reporters.