Right-handed middle-order batsman Sabbir Rahman says he is prepared well to prove his mettle in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020 starting from November 24. 

Sabbir, who is out of form and favour for a long time, says this event is a chance to get back into the reckoning for the national team for the players who are currently out of the national set up. 

Sabbir played his last competitive game in October this year in President’s Cup 50-over competition but failed to do well with the bat. He last played for the national team back in September 2019. 

“This event is very important for the players who had been waiting to prove their mettle in a bigger stage of the game for a long time. And at the same time, it’s a big opportunity for the players who are out of the national set-up,” Sabbir told the media on Sunday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. 

“There is no substitute for working hard. I have been working hard for the last few weeks. In Rajshahi, I batted well for 20 to 25 days. I got the chance to bat at the centre wicket in Rajshahi. I am confident of doing well in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup,” he added. 

Sabbir will represent Beximco Dhaka in Bangabandhu T20 Cup. He will have the national starts— Mushfiqur Rahim, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Abu Hider Rony— as his teammates. 

“I am more mature now than I was in the last three-four years. Now, I understand better what I didn’t in the past. To push my game to the next level, I have to do well in the domestic circuit. I believe this event is a good opportunity for me to prove my mettle,” Sabbir further added. 

The Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020 will begin on November 24 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Along with Beximco Dhaka, other four teams— Minister Group Rajshahi, Fortune Barishal, Gazi Group Chattogram and Gemcon Khulna— will also participate in this event.

Also read: Sabbir to face 6-month ban from int’l cricket

Bangladesh pace-bowling allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin hurt his left ankle on Sunday during a practice session of his Bangabandhut T20 Cup team Minister Group Rajshahi, which has ruled him out of the action for at least two weeks.

Saifuddin was Rajshahi’s first choice in the players draft of this event. But for this injury, he won’t be able to play the first few matches for Rajshahi which is a big setback for them.

“Saifuddin injured his left ankle during a practice session for the Rajshahi team. He is now under the observation of the team physio and BCB medical department. This sort of injury takes at least two weeks to get healed. We’ll be able to know his condition better tomorrow,” Hannan Sarkar, the manager of Rajshahi team, told the media on Sunday.

After getting the blow while playing football for warm-up, Saifuddin had to leave the field using a crutch.

Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020 will begin on November 24 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Along with Rajshahi, other four teams— Beximco Dhaka, Fortune Barishal, Gazi Group Chattogram and Gemcon Khulna— will also participate in this event.

Fortune Barishal skipper Tamim Iqbal insisted that his team will do something ‘out of the box’ in Bangabandhu T20 Cup 2020 starting from November 24. 

Fortune Barishal failed to rope in the players they hoped for in the players draft, believes Tamim, also the Bangladesh ODI skipper. He is confident of doing well in the league relying on cricketers who are not the familiar faces in the domestic circuit. 

“There is no doubt that we have made some mistakes in the draft. We have certainly made some mistakes and which are at the centre of contention now. But at the same time, cricket is the game of uncertainty. We have some players in the squad who are not familiar faces in our cricketing circuit. But they have the potential to have a great event as we have seen in the President’s Cup earlier,” Tamim told the media on Saturday. 

“There were two-three players who have done very well in the President’s Cup. We didn’t expect them to do well. I am confident of witnessing the same sort of performance from some guys of our team. And to do that, we have to play with a plan out of the box. It’ll be tough for us to do well relying on the traditional plans,” he added. 

Tamim came back from a short stint at the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where his team Lahore Qalandars emerged the runners up of the event. He managed to have the good starts in three matches he played, but eventually, failed to play big innings. But he says he is hopeful of doing well in Bangabandhu T20 Cup. 

“I think my performance will play an important role in Barishal’s success in this event. If I can score big innings as a batsman, it’ll surely inspire the other guys,” Tamim added

Fortune Barishal squad: Tamim Iqbal (captain), Taskin Ahmed, Irfaan Shukkur, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Abu Jayed, Towhid Hridoy, Tanvir Islam, Sumon Khan, Saif Hassan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Parvez Hossain Emon, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Abu Sayem and Sohrawordi Shubho.

Also read: Khulna ropes in Shakib, Mahmudullah

After nearly a decade of hosting no home test matches due to a terrorist attack on a rival team's bus in 2009, Pakistan says it's ready to welcome major cricketing nations like South Africa, New Zealand, England and West Indies in 2021.

“We’re working hugely in terms of building relationships, nurturing those relationships with (other) cricket boards,” Wasim Khan, chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, told The Associated Press.

South Africa is due to visit Pakistan in January to play a two-test series which is part of world test championship, followed by three Twenty20s.

New Zealand is penciled in for three ODIs and five Twenty20s in September, followed by two Twenty20s against England at Karachi. It will be England's first tour to Pakistan since 2005.

The PCB has also plans a home series against West Indies in December.

“We have a chock-a-block eight to 10 months coming up for us on the road playing at home,” Khan said. “We’re also in discussions with Cricket Australia. They’re due to be touring during the 2022 season, we’re looking at them coming for an extended period of time.”

When Sri Lanka's team bus came under a terrorist attack in March 2009, the doors of international cricket remained shut on Pakistan until Zimbabwe became the first test-playing nation to play limited-overs series at Lahore in 2015.

A bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricketers, part of a larger convoy, was fired upon by 12 gunmen near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The cricketers were on their way to play the third day of the second test against Pakistan.

Six Pakistan police officers and two civilians were killed and six members of the Sri Lanka team were wounded. The rest of the test match and tour was called off.

Test cricket only returned to Pakistan late last year when Sri Lanka played two five-day games at Rawalpindi and Karachi. Bangladesh also played a test match before its second test was called off due to COVID-19.

In between the Zimbabwe and Bangladesh tours, a franchise-based domestic Twenty20 league — the Pakistan Super League — played a big role in pressing Pakistan's claims to host international games.

Players like Shane Watson of Australia and South Africans Dale Steyn and Faf du Plessis were among some big names that toured Pakistan and have played for various city-based franchise teams. Khan believes these players had a significant role in portraying Pakistan’s improving image among cricket-playing nations.

“A lot of these players go back to their own countries … and say, you know what? Pakistan is one of the safest places to play,” Khan said. "These are those cricketers who are associated with their own cricket boards, who are international cricketers, who perhaps had a (different) perception of Pakistan before they came here.”

Tight security with cricket team buses heavily guarded by armed personnel is quite normal in Pakistan whenever overseas contingents travel to the stadium from hotels, often blocking already heavy traffic on major roads of big cities like Lahore and Karachi.

“Yes, we’ll continue to provide state-level security for as long as possible, we’ll never become complacent,” Khan said.

Khan also wants to organize a limited-overs series against neighboring Afghanistan somewhere next year, after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricket captain for the country, visited Kabul and extended an invitation to Afghan national team this week.

“We will do everything we can to find a slot in the calendar to arrange fixtures against Afghanistan,” Wasim Khan said.

While Khan has managed to liaise with almost all the cricketing boards around the world since he joined the PCB last year, he doesn’t expect a resumption of the Pakistan-India cricket rivalry anytime soon.

Political tensions between India and Pakistan, especially over a long-standing territorial dispute in the Kashmir region, have seen both countries playing against each other only in major international tournaments like Champions Trophy and World Cups.

“Should we be playing India? Absolutely,” Khan said. “Could we be playing them? Probably not for the foreseeable future.”

India, no doubt, in the World Cups, as we do.”

Read Also: Bangladesh Cricket team off to Pakistan