BPL Mashup: ‘Nothing to lose’ for Mahmud's Dhaka

Durdanto Dhaka head coach Khaled Mahmud usually remains in charge of formidable teams in both Dhaka Premier League and BPL. However, going against the trend, he is set to start this season with a newly formed team in the country's lone franchise T20 tournament. The former Bangladesh captain said that his side's target would be to qualify for the playoffs.

"If I am thinking realistically, given the strength we have, the first step we can target is the knockouts and making the top four. You need luck to be champions too," he told reporters after his side's first practice session at SBNCS yesterday.

Dhaka do not have many big local or foreign players but decided to put faith in youngsters from home and abroad. Homegrown stars such as Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam and Mosaddek Hossain will form the core of the side along with Mohammad Naim.

They have added Sri Lankan Sadeera Samarawickrama and Pakistani Saim Ayub but it remains to be seen who could be the X-factor from the squad.

Mahmud, already a successful local coach, understands that his team will start as underdogs but feels his team will have to make do with what they have.

"Of course, this is a big challenge for me. Everyone will tag us as a number six or seven team. I don't get offended by it because we have nothing to lose. Whatever we will do, it will be an achievement for us," Mahmud said.

"We might have been unsuccessful in bringing in big players to our side. We don't have a big budget. But I'm not worried about it. In this type of format, anything can happen. We need three to four players to deliver good performance," Mahmud added.

Mosaddek or Taskin may captain the side in the upcoming tournament, Mahmud also informed.

Dhaka will begin their tournament campaign against reigning champions Comilla Victorians in the tournament opener.

Shakib to see eye doctor in London

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is all set to depart for London, England, to see an eye specialist, a member of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) medical team informed The Daily Star yesterday.

The 36-year-old had been suffering from an eye issue since last year's ODI World Cup. He recently had checked up with an ophthalmologist in Dhaka after having done the same during the showpiece event in India.

With Shakib set to feature for Rangpur Riders in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), beginning January 19, his franchise has arranged the medical appointment. The Bangladesh captain had batted wearing glasses during a net session yesterday at the Bashundhara Sports Complex.

"Shakib is going to London to do a check up on his eyes. It's not a serious concern and we are expecting him to be available before the BPL begins," Rangpur Riders CEO Ishtiaque Sadeque told The Daily Star.

SBNCS gets slight makeover

The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur is going through slight renovation as BCB is installing 7500 new chairs ahead of BPL's 10th edition.

Syed Abdul Baten, BCB grounds and facilities manager, informed that all the broken chairs at the venue will be replaced.

"The main problem is with Club House north and south and we are replacing those chairs at the earliest. We have got 7500 chairs to complete the work," Baten told the media.