T20
BPL: From “world’s second-best” to “best domestic” league
There was a time when Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials used to claim that the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) was the second-best T20 cricket league in the world. According to them, the BPL was positioned right after the Indian Premier League (IPL). But now, they say, they are working to make the BPL "one of the best leagues" in the country.
The next season of the BPL is slated to be played from early January to mid-February, 2023. BCB has already drafted the names of the owners of the seven participating franchises. If all goes well, the franchises will be finalized soon after the prospective owners pay the bank guarantee of BDT 100 million.
Read: Shakib Al Hasan shines in Caribbean Premier League
At least two other leagues are scheduled to be played at the same time as the BPL. As a result, the BPL may not be able to attract the attention of the best foreign players. Many have already signed contracts with teams in the other two leagues, one of which will be held in the United Arab Emirates and the other in South Africa.
Ismail Haider Mallick, member secretary of the BPL governing council, today said, "BPL was a good T20 event when there were not many leagues like it."
"Now too many leagues are there – CPL is happening, PSL is here, UAE is going to host a league and South Africa is also on the scene. Now, it’s tough to compare (BPL) with other (international) leagues. We want to make it one of the best domestic leagues. "
Read: BPL Governing Council announces names of seven BPL franchises
The first edition of the BPL was played in 2012. Four years after that, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) started the Pakistan Super League (PSL). While BPL is still trying to establish its brand, PSL is generating a lot of money for PCB.
"It costs a lot to host an event like BPL," Ismail added. "To make it bigger, we have to sell the ownership of a franchise for a lot of money. But the reality is, we cannot even host it as a home-and-away event. We don’t have enough venues for it. What we are looking forward to is making it one of our best domestic events. "
Since BPL may fail to attract the attention of foreign players this season, BCB is going to relax conditions. Ismail said a franchise will be able to sign a foreign player at any point of the tournament, and they will also be able to sign a foreign player for any period of time.
Read: Bangladesh champions of ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2022
It means if a franchise gets a player for only two matches, they are allowed to sign the player. At the same time, Ismail said, a franchise can play two foreign players in a match instead of four.
BCB has already fixed the remuneration of the players. According to BCB, the local players in the A category will get BDT 8 million, while the players in the lowest category will generate half a million taka.
Every team is allowed to sign one local player directly out of the draft, but there is no limit to signing a foreign player. The BCB will not decide how much money a team will pay to recruit a foreign cricketer outside the draft.
Read: A narrow escape: Bangladesh beat UAE by 7 runs in 1st T20
Shakib Al Hasan shines in Caribbean Premier League
Bangladesh’s T20 captain, Shakib Al Hasan, is currently busy playing in the Caribbean Premier League 2022. Playing in this competitive franchise-based league is helping him to be well-prepared for the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup 2022. After some initial struggles, the ace all-rounder started to perform well for his team, the Guyana Amazon Warriors. Let’s take a look at how Shakib Al Hasan has fared so far in CPL 2022.
Shakib’s performances in the group phase of 2022 CPL T20
Shakib Al Hasan joined Guyana Amazon Warriors team in the middle of the CPL 2022 season. He replaced South African spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who has missed the remainder of the Caribbean Premier League T20 because of national team duty.
The Guyana franchise’s decision to include Shakib in the squad was not a surprise as he has the best bowling figure (6/6) in the tournament’s history. The veteran all-rounder has scalped 36 wickets with an economy rate of 6.72 so far in the CPL T20 competition.
Shakib had struggled in the first two matches of the competition but has been very impressive since his third appearance in the competition. In fact, he was awarded player of the match in the last two fixtures of the Guyana Amazon Warriors, helping his side to finish top two in the group stage points standings.
Shakib Al Hasan’s 35 runs with a strike rate of 140 and 3 wickets with the ball was a decisive match-winning performance against the Trinbago Knight Riders, which Guyana won by 37 runs. The ace all-rounder was even more ruthless in the Amazon Warriors' final group phase fixture against tournament favourites Barbados Royals.
Shakib picked up a wicket with the ball, but it was his aggressive batting while chasing Barbados 125 that was the decisive factor. The left-hand batter came at the crease when the team score was 18 for 2 in 3.4 overs. Shakib carried the innings to 97 in 11 overs by hammering the ball all around the ground. Before Shakib went back to the pavilion, he made 53 off 30, featuring 3 huge sixes. The Guyana Amazon Warriors eventually sealed the contest in just 14.3 overs. Here is Shakib Al Hasan’s overall performance at the end of the group phase of the CPL 2022.
Shakib Al Hasan’s all-round performance in the group phase of the CPL 2022
Innings
Runs
HS
Strike Rate
Wickets
BBI
Economy
4
88
53
154.38
7
3/20
6.55
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/caribbean-premier-league-2022-1320379
CPL 2022: Playoffs Fixtures
Shakib Al Hasan will be one of the vital players for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the playoffs, which will start on September 27. The Guyana side can reach the final if they can overcome the Barbados Royals in the Qualifier 1 match. They will get another chance to qualify for the final in the qualifier 2 match if they fail to win the contest against Barbados. Here are the Caribbean Premier League 2022 playoffs and the championship fixtures. The remaining matches of the tournament will be held at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.
CPLT20 2022 playoffs and final fixtures
Date
Match
Time (Bangladesh Standard Time)
September 27 (Tuesday)
Barbados Royals vs Guyana Amazon Warriors
8 p.m.
September 28 (Wednesday)
Saint Lucia Kings vs Jamaica Tallawahs
5 a.m.
September 29 (Thursday)
TBD
5 a.m.
October 1 (Saturday)
Final
5 a.m.
Source: https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/caribbean-premier-league-2022-1320379
Bottom Line
Shakib Al Hasan's decision to skip Bangladesh's two T20I matches against the UAE is primarily driven by his intention to play in the Caribbean Premier League 2022, which will serve as better preparation for the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup 2022. The ace all-rounder is regaining his confidence by playing against better opponents. Shakib Al Hasan has put up a fantastic showing so far at the CPL 2022, which is excellent news for Bangladesh heading into the major event.
BPL Governing Council announces names of seven BPL franchises
After detailed evaluation and assessment of the EOI documents submitted by the intending franchise owners, the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 Governing Council has finalized seven BPL franchises and invited them to complete the process of securing Franchise Ownership Rights for the next three (9th, 10th, and 11th) editions of the tournament.
Read: Bangladesh champions of ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier 2022The next BPL will be held in January-February of 2023, with seven franchisees competing. The selected seven franchises are: Barishal (Fortune Barishal Sports Ltd), Khulna (Mindtree Limited), Dhaka (Progoti Green Auto Rice Mills Ltd), Sylhet (Future Sports Bangladesh Limited) and Rangpur (Toggi Sports-Bashundhara Group). Chattogram (Delta Sports Ltd.) and Cumilla (Cumilla Legends Limited). All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan's Monarch Padma (Morarch Mart Limited) was not selected as a BPL franchise. Besides, two well-known franchises—Beximco (Dhaka) and Gemicon Group (Khulna)—were not interested this time.
Read: A narrow escape: Bangladesh beat UAE by 7 runs in 1st T20
Mahmudullah was Dhoni’s equivalent in Bangladesh: Sridharan
The T20 consultant of Bangladesh, Sridharan Sriram, compared Mahmudullah Riad with MS Dhoni of India while explaining the reason behind dropping Mahmudullah for the T20 World Cup that will take place in late October in Australia.
Bangladesh announced a 15-member squad for the World Cup that has no place for Mahmudullah. He was going through a bad patch for a while now, and that has eventually prompted the selectors to overlook him from the format.
Sridharan said the Bangladesh team now need a succession plan to look at the future and to do that, they have to rely on the new guns more.
“I think our cricket team needs to have a succession plan,” Sridharan said after the announcement of the squad on Wednesday. “I have always equated Mahmudullah with MS Dhoni with the role that he performs for the team. He batted at No 6 just like Dhoni has done for India. He has finished off games. Dhoni cannot go on forever and ever, right?”
He also said that Bangladesh needs to look forward to finding out the right talent who can put his feet in the big shoes of Mahmudullah. According to him, to find a talent like that, Bangladesh needs to try out the new faces.
Sridharan, who took on the role right before the Asia Cup, was the “bad man” to tell Mahmudullah that he is not a part of Bangladesh’s World Cup plan. Sridharan said it was tough for him to do it.
While Mahmudullah has been dropped, Bangladesh included Najmul Hossain Shanto in the squad. The left-handed batter wasn't a part of the Bangladesh team during the Asia Cup. But he found a place in the World Cup doing nothing remarkable in the format. Sridharan said he thinks Najmul has an X-factor to do well in T20Is.
Ltion Das, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Yasir Ali Rabbi and Hasan Mahmud are also in the squad. They missed Asia Cup for injuries, but they are now fit to make a comeback.
Ahead of the World Cup, Bangladesh will play a tri-nation series in New Zealand. Align with Bangladesh and New Zealand, Pakistan will also take part in that series.
Also read: BCB announces Bangladesh squad for T20 World Cup: Mahmudullah Riyad overlooked
England to play 7 T20s in Pakistan next month
England will tour Pakistan for the first time in 17 years when it plays seven Twenty20s next month in Karachi and Lahore.
Karachi will host four T20s from Sept. 20-25 and Lahore will host the remaining three from Sept. 28-Oct. 2.
England last toured Pakistan in 2005, while Pakistan twice hosted in the United Arab Emirates in 2012 and 2016. Last year, England was due to tour Pakistan just before the T20 World Cup but withdrew citing “bubble fatigue” and unexplained security concerns.
“England ... playing the shortest format in the leadup to the men’s T20 World Cup in Pakistan will not only help the team management to finalise their preparations, but will also set the tone for December’s three-test series,” Pakistan Cricket Board director international cricket Zakir Khan said in a statement on Tuesday.
Read: South Africa’s Rabada injured ahead of England series
England will return to Pakistan after the T20 World Cup in Australia in October to play three test matches in December.
England’s security delegation visited Pakistan last month.
Pakistan will also host New Zealand in two phases. New Zealand will play two tests and three one-day internationals in December-January and return in April for another five ODIs and five T20s.
Pakistan is also due next year to host the Asia Cup for the first time since 2008, as warmup event for next year’s 50-over Cricket World Cup in India in October-November.
T20 series: Klaasen gives South Africa 2-0 lead over India
Heinrich Klaasen hit 81 runs off 46 balls as South Africa beat India by four wickets with almost two overs to spare in their second T20 international Sunday.
The Proteas took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Klaasen's innings, including seven fours and five sixes, turned the game after South Africa struggled against the new ball. The visitors finished at 149-6 in 18.2 overs in reply to India's 148-6.
Put in to bat, India lost Ruturaj Gaikwad (1) in the first over. He was caught off Kagiso Rabada who returned 1-15 in four overs.
Ishan Kishan (34 off 21) and Shreyas Iyer then put on 45 runs for the second wicket. But it was a slow partnership, off 35 balls, on a tricky batting wicket.
Anrich Nortje (2-36) provided the breakthrough, with Kishan out caught. He hit two fours and three sixes in his innings.
Iyer top-scored for India with 40 off 35 as South Africa's bowlers squeezed the middle overs. He only added 20 runs with captain Rishabh Pant (5), who was caught off Keshav Maharaj (1-12).
Wayne Parnell bowled Hardik Pandya (9) before Iyer was caught behind off Dwaine Pretorius (1-40).
India were reduced to 98-5 in 13.5 overs before Dinesh Karthik steadied the innings. He scored 30 not out off 21 balls, including two fours and two sixes, but it was still a sub-par total for India. Only three batters for India crossed 20.
In reply, South Africa were reduced to 29-3 in 5.3 overs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's burst of 3-10 in the powerplay overs pegged back the Proteas.
He bowled Reeza Hendricks (4) in the first over and Rassie van der Dussen (1) in the sixth over.
Skipper Temba Bavuma held anchor with 35 off 30, while Klaasen eased the pressure with some fierce hitting.
South Africa reached 57-3 at the halfway stage but Bavuma released the pressure with three fours off Hardik (0-31).
Klaasen took on the Indian spinners and brought up his half-century off 32 balls.
The duo added 64 runs off 41 balls for the fourth wicket before Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed Bavuma.
Klaasen then teamed up with David Miller (20 not out) as the pair took 23 runs off Chahal's 17th over to turn the game in South Africa's favour.
South Africa won the first game in Delhi by seven wickets. India did not make any changes Sunday to their team from that game. South Africa made two changes. Quinton de Kock missed out due to a hand injury, and Tristan Stubbs was left out.
The third T20 is at Visakhapatnam Tuesday.
Also read: Former South Africa cricket captain Smith cleared of racism
Tigers tumbled for 115 in 2nd T20 vs Afghanistan
Bangladesh tumbled for 115 for nine in 20 overs in the 2nd T20I against Afghanistan on Saturday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first, but the hosts failed to respond well.
Openers, Munim Shahriar and Mohammad Naim posted seven runs in the first wicket partnership. Munim, who got a chance in the national team for his ability to hit the ball cleanly, failed to prove his mettle in the first two chances.
Also read: Bangladesh bat first in Mushfiqur’s 100th T20I
Mushfiqur Rahim, who is playing his 100th T20I as only the second Bangladeshi cricketer after Mahmudullah Riyad, scored 30, the highest by any Bangladeshi batter in this match.
Mahmudullah Riyad, the Bangladesh captain, scored 21, the second-highest runs in this innings by a Bangladeshi batter.
Mohammad Naim and Liton Das were the other two batters to have scored a double-digit total— 13 each.
Afghanistan bowled superbly. Left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi continued to shine taking three wickets conceding 18 in four overs while right-arm pacer Azmatullah Omarzai has also bagged three wickets conceding 22 in four overs.
Also read: BAN vs AFG T20I Series 2022: Can Bangladesh Whitewash Afghanistan in Twenty20 Series?
Bangladesh won the first match by 61 runs at the same venue.
Liton, Nasum guide Bangladesh to easy win vs Afghanistan in first T20
Nasum Ahmed grabbed four early wickets after Liton Das smashed a fine 60 to guide Bangladesh to an easy 61-run victory against Afghanistan in the first T20I on Thursday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
In a full-packed stadium, at least 24,000 spectators cheered the Tigers in their thumping win demolishing the Afghans with 14 balls in hand.
Bangladesh posted 155-8 in 20 overs bating first after winning the toss. In reply, Afghanistan tumbled for 94 all out in 17.4 overs.
Najibullah Zadran was the best batter for Afghanistan scoring 27 off 26 balls. But his effort was not enough for the tourists to chase a challenging target of 156 runs.
Bangladesh left-arm spinner Nasum bagged four wickets conceding only 10 runs in four overs.
He struck in the very first over of the innings removing Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck. In his previous innings, in the third ODI prior to the T20 series, Gurbaz had a ton in Chattogram. But he failed to have a good start to the T20 series.
Afghanistan suffered an early setback when Gurbaz sliced an easy catch at the point area to Yasir Ali.
Won’t play T20Is for at least 6 months: Tamim
Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal said he won’t play T20 Internationals for the national team for at least six months.
He, however, also made it clear that he did not retire from the format, and the left-handed batter added that he would give it a thought if the team requires him in the format.
Tamim is currently in the port city of Chattogram to play the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) for the Minister Group Dhaka team.
“I have been in discussion with the BCB president and other board directors, and I have decided that I would focus on ODIs and Tests more,” Tamim said while talking to the media in Chattogram on Thursday .
Read: BPL 2022 Phase 1: Noteworthy Performance of Players in Different Categories
“I hope the team won’t need me in the next six months,” he added. “Those who have been playing so well in T20Is will not require me, but if the team does require me, I might give it a think according to the cricketing aspect. There is no reason for any controversy.”
Earlier, Nazmul Hasan, the BCB president, had said that Tamim is not interested anymore to play T20Is for Bangladesh.
Tamim made a good start to this edition of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) scoring fifties in the first two matches. But in the next two, he failed to impress with the bat.
The left-handed opener played a total of 78 T20Is and scored 1758 runs with seven fifties and one hundred at a strike rate of 117.2.
Read: BPL 2022: Mahmudul shines on debut as Comilla outplay Barishal
The 32-year-old top-order batter played his last T20 International back in 2020 against Zimbabwe. He missed two historic home series against Australia and New Zealand that Bangladesh won. Tamim was out of the team in the World Cup as well.
Tigers clean-swept despite Mahmudullah’s late flourish
Bangladesh needed to defend only eight runs in the final over to prevent Pakistan from a clean-sweep of the three-match T20I series on Monday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Captain Mahmudullah Riayd conceded no run in the first three balls and scalped two wickets as well, but in the end, the Tigers failed to prevail and avoid a clean-sweep. Off the fourth ball of the last over, Iftikhar Ahmed smashed a six before falling apart in the next ball, and Pakistan’s target came down to two runs of the last ball. Mohammad Nawaz smashed the last ball through the extra-cover area to end the series at 3-0.
READ: Mahmudullah has few answers as Tigers’ rut continues
Captain Mahmudullah bagged three wickets in the last over conceding 10 runs. His late flourish brought some life in yet another low-scoring affair at the Mirpur wickets, but that was not enough for the Tigers. To chase down a moderate target of 125, Pakistan top-order put up 104 runs on the board and it was a matter of time for Pakistan to pull up the match. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam scored 32 in the first wicket stand. Babar fell prey to Bangladesh’s only leg spinner Aminul Islam for 19 while Rizwan scored 40. Number three Haider Ali posted 45. In the last four overs, Pakistan needed 26 runs and that later came down to 8 in the last over that Bangladesh failed to defend. Earlier, with another poor batting display, Bangladesh posted a moderate total of 124 for seven in 20 overs. Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. Mohammad Naim guided the hosts scoring 47 off 50 balls. Along with him, Shamim Hossain and Afif Hossain also did well scoring 22 and 20 respectively. The hosts’ batters were missing the x-factor in their batting once again. Both Afif and Shamim got a good start but failed to capitalize on it.
READ: Mahmudullah blames top-order batting after defeat to Pakistan Mohammad Wasim and Usman Qadir scalped two wickets each for Pakistan. Pakistan won both of the first two matches quite easily. Bangladesh failed to pose any quality resistance in both games. Both teams will lock horns in a two-Test series beginning on November 26 in Chattogram, and the second Test will be played in Dhaka from December 4.