Walks in and takes a wicket, did Mashrafe expose BPL’s true stature?
Durdanto Dhaka pacer Shoriful Islam's maiden T20 hattrick, teams comfortably posting and chasing totals over 150, and the crowd coming in numbers at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur -- the opening day of the 10th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) had events aplenty to hook the cricket lovers.
Apart from these, there was one other thing that caught viewers' eyes yesterday. It was how Sylhet Strikers skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza got going.
From imposing ridiculous rules -- like in 2019 when it was made compulsory for teams to include a leg-spinner and a fast bowler who clocks north of 140kph -- to glaring graphical errors made by broadcasters, the BPL has always found a way to remain in discussion for peculiar reasons.
The latest edition of the country's only franchise-based T20 tournament opened yesterday on the back of a lot of promises, as usual. Competitiveness, obviously, remains a constant promise from the BPL -- a league that had started over a decade ago with aspirations to follow in on the path of the most successful and watched franchise league, the Indian Premier League.
However, when a 40-year-old Mashrafe, far removed from his prime, took about three strides and got the wicket of Imranuzzaman with his very first delivery, it showed why the BPL is perhaps miles behind other fast-evolving and high-demanding franchise leagues across the globe.
Not only the oddity of Mashrafe's bowling run-up but also the fact that it was the first time in over eight months that the cricketer was bowling in competitive cricket made the scenario all the more amusing. The former Bangladesh skipper, who is also a ruling party parliament member, last played in the Dhaka Premier League in May last year.
The most successful Bangladesh captain could not, however, lead his side to victory yesterday as Mashrafe's Sylhet Strikers began their BPL campaign with a seven-wicket defeat against Chattogram Challengers in Mirpur. Mashrafe ended a drab day with figures of one for 25 in 2.3 overs.
With the inclusion of new technologies, including the availability of the Decision Review System (DRS) for the entirety of the tournament for the very first time, this edition of the BPL seemed to have finally taken the initial steps in the right direction.
Only day one has passed of the 43-day long tournament, and it is indeed too soon to judge or predict how it is going to pan out eventually. But one department that the BPL certainly came through on the opening day is its well-known capability of amusing the fans in its own unique way.