Shakib credits Mirpur wickets for exciting first leg
Amidst all the banters relating to the limitations of the Bangladesh Premier League, Fortune Barishal skipper Shakib Al Hasan this time has pointed out a positive acknowledging the sporting nature of the wickets that has by and large aided some very neat batting efforts in the Dhaka leg of the tournament held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.
The Mirpur wickets in recent years have had their share of criticisms for failing time and time again to produce sporting wickets or pitches that are suited to the shortest format of the game.
The ace all-rounder set aside the off-field conundrums and gave credit to the pitch curators for producing good wickets saying that it has helped deliver some exciting contests.
"This year, the pitch has been very good. It's an unexpected thing for us to get good wickets in Mirpur. So, we have to give credit to the curator. The wickets have been good which is why we have had so many runs; the on-field contest has also been very good, very exciting," Shakib said at an event in Dhaka on Wednesday.
"We have to give a lot of credit to the pitch because it has played very well which is why I think the local batters are getting the opportunity to score runs. They are capitalising on it and it is a good sign," he added.
The BPL has produced runs in plenty in majority of the matches in the Dhaka leg, a feature that has evaded the tournament in recent editions. Fans have had the delight of seeing boundaries galore and another redeeming feature of the first leg has been the performances of the local batters who have risen to the occasion delivering some very impressive, eye-catching knocks.
The trend had not gone past Shakib and he acknowledged the consistent performances of Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, and Zakir Hasan. Hridoy leads the charts for highest run-getters so far with 195 runs in four matches, including three straight fifties, all on winning causes, while Shanto's steady approach at the top of the order has him in second with 167, while Zakir's impactful cameos in the middle-order placed him sixth with 100 runs after the end of the first le.
"There are many who are playing well but on a consistent basis, Shanto (Najmul Hossain), Towhid Hridoy, and Zakir (Hasan) are batting very well along with other players. The most positive side has been that the local batters are getting runs; this is very good for us," Shakib said while adding, "Previously, we used to see them score 30-40 runs and now we are seeing 70 odd; they will also learn how to score 100."
Despite the local batters coming to the party so far in this BPL, Shakib felt the bowlers haven't quite made their mark in the tournament underlining that they were struggling to keep batters in check on good wickets, a skill that the all-rounder said that bowlers must learn.
"As I've already said that the local batters are scoring runs which is a good sign for us but the local bowlers are not bowling that well. They have to learn how to bowl on good wickets," he said.