Sylhet get some Fizz before Mash masterclass
As Mashrafe Bin Mortaza walked towards the net session where Sylhet Strikers' net bowlers were working their way towards rhythm, a player clad in a white jacket was running in full steam and hitting the stumps.
The familiar run-up to the crease, the movement in the air or the shattering of stumps that followed were not the surprise elements, the only surprising fact was that the bowler was Mustafizur Rahman, a Comilla Victorians player.
Even though BPL teams usually have to share the field for net sessions and players do get a chance to catch up, players from different franchises do not go and bowl in other franchise's net session.
Both Sylhet Strikers and Comilla Victorians are undergoing practice sessions at the BCB Academy Ground in Mirpur. Although Mashrafe had played the opening game of his franchise, he partook in his first practice session yesterday, still looking to regain fitness after a long break from the field.
Fizz clattered the stumps a few times at pace, getting some genuine movement in the air. He would soon motion to Mashrafe to have a go with the ball himself, which Mash declined flippantly. Fizz would bowl a few more with Mash watching on.
After Fizz bowled a length delivery that zipped away from the stumps, Mash motioned with a swivel of his hips that it would be flicked for six.
Soon Fizz would head back to Comilla's nets and Mash gingerly warmed up with a few looseners with a short run-up. Once he landed a few in line, he began taking a masterclass.
"Actually, rather than Mashrafe bhai's performance, him being in the field is the main motivation for us. Him being there makes decision-making easy which is what I felt and that's important for us," Zakir had said a day before after Sylhet's practice.
Zakir's words rang true as Mashrafe showed the virtues of his leadership. He went on to bowl a few deliveries, each and every time pointing to the seam direction and the grip he was using before his run-up to the crease.
He had fast bowling coach Dollar Mahmud as an eager student while the net bowlers watched on. Sylhet's Rejaur Rahman Raja and spin coach too were in attendance as Mashrafe bowled outswingers, getting the length at just top of the off-stump.
A lot has been made out of Mashrafee's lack of fitness this season and whether Sylhet can afford to carry a half-fit player as a captain.
But there is little doubt over how greatly he is still valued in the Sylhet dressing room, a side that finished as runners-up in their maiden appearance last season under his leadership.