BCB successful in unearthing fresh blood

The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) goal to unearth some new hard-hitter batters for the Twenty 20 format through a revamped National Cricket League T20 is considered a huge success.

The tournament, which ended Tuesday with Rangpur clinching the trophy, unleashed some power hitters, who could be the future of Bangladesh cricket if nurtured well.

During the national team’s tour of the West Indies, the eight-team tournament also became a big stage for players outside the national team to bring them into the limelight.

Just as the completely new players stole the show, those who were dropped from the national team also performed to make their case stronger.

The names of the two players, who aggregated the highest runs and picked up the most wickets, showed that so. Naim Sheikh rediscovered his mojo again to prove that he has enough to give Bangladesh cricket still. In bowling, a 33-year-old Alauddin Babu also showed that he has the hunger still.

“This is a tournament that is a platform to unleash some power hitters for the T20 format,” BCB director Nazmul Abedin Fahim said ahead of the tournament.

“We knew we had a large number of skilled players who needed a stage to showcase their talent. I hope they will use this platform to bring them into the limelight.”

Naim Sheikh, who made his T20 debut in Bangladesh’s epic victory over India in Delhi in 2019, was the highest scorer in this tournament.

The opener started his international career with T20s and later played ODIs and Tests. However, Naim lost his form, which was the reason for his axing from the national team after playing in the 2023 Asia Cup.

Naim played a major role in taking Dhaka Metro to the final in the NCL T20. In the second qualifier, he scored 57 runs off 53 balls to lead the team to victory. The Metro captain scored a tournament-high 316 runs with three fifties in 10 matches, at a strike rate of 135.04, a major factor in the T20s. He hit 11 sixes, which is also another x-factor for any batter’s inclusion in the national side.

The name that came after Naim as far as the highest runs are concerned is Jishan Alam, who is already considered as the future of Bangladesh cricket. Hitting seven 6’s in eight balls and making a 52-ball century, Jishan Alam opened the NCL T20 in emphatic fashion. Jishan, the Bangladesh Under-19 batter, then scored two more fifties for Sylhet.

Jishan, who scored 281 runs at a strike rate of 158.75, hit 22 sixes. No other batsman could hit more than 17 sixes in this tournament.

Habibur Rahman, who hit the second highest number of 17 sixes, is also in the top five in terms of total runs. Habibur, who earned the name of a hard-hitting batter in the BPL, scored 259 runs at a strike rate of 160.86 for Rajshahi.

Habibur, better known as Sohan to his teammates, is in fourth place in the list of run-scorers. The name just above him with 266 runs is also Sohan, who is better known as Nurul Hasan Sohan. Although the wicketkeeper batter who was dropped from the national team has an average of 53.20, his strike rate is not healthy enough-it was only 126.06.

Azizul Hakim Tamim, who captained the Bangladesh side in winning the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup for the country a few days ago, played his first recognised T20 through this tournament. He has scored 237 runs in nine matches for Khulna at a strike rate of 136.99.

Apart from this, Imranuzzaman (228), Ariful Islam (213), Akbar Ali (208), and Toufiq Khan (200) have also crossed 200 with the bat. Among them, except Akbar, the other names are a bit unfamiliar.

Most of Akbar’s Under-19 World Cup-winning teammates have already played for the national team. Akbar, who has not yet had that opportunity, has made a strong case this time.

Akbar, who scored 208 runs at a strike rate of 149.64 with 14 sixes, has effected the tournament’s highest 12-wicket dismissal behind the wicket. His captaincy has played a big role in making Rangpur the champion.

The top name in bowling is Alauddin Babu. The 33-year-old pace-bowling all-rounder has made a new stride for himself by taking 19 wickets. He surpassed Ahmed Sharif by taking three wickets in the final for Rangpur. Alauddin Babu has also done quite well with the bat. He batted four times for Rangpur and scored 61 runs at a strike rate of 160.52.

Ahmed Sharif, the 20-year-old pacer, made his debut in first-class cricket in the 2022-23 season. Ahmed Sharif, who played for Chattogram, first caught attention with five wickets against Rajshahi in the last season. The pacer took 11 wickets in four matches and thereafter got a chance in the T20 format of NCL.

Ahmed Sharif, however, this time took him in the limelight by his own, taking 17 wickets in his debut T20 tournament.

Rakibul Hasan, who is in the third spot with 15 wickets, is working tirelessly to make himself known. A member of the Under-19 World Cup-winning team, Rakibul has taken 15 wickets for the Dhaka Metro.

The left-arm spinner, who gave away just 6.41 runs per over, has already had a taste of international cricket in the 2023 Asian Games. Rakibul has been doing well in domestic cricket and has now forced his case stronger to play for the national team.

Aliss Al Islam and Abu Haider Rony followed Rakibul with 14 and 13 wickets, respectively.

Both of them have been regular performers in domestic T20s for many years. Abu Haider Rony, who scored 123 runs at a staggering strike rate of 164 with the bat, became the tournament’s best for his sparkling allround performance.

Rangpur’s Mukidul Islam Mugdho is in fifth place with 12 wickets. For his three-wicket haul, Mugdho was adjudged man of the match in the final, which his side, Rangpur, won by five wickets against Metro.

Chattogram’s left-arm pacer Fahad Hossain, who took 11 wickets, also showed his talent in the big stage.

Tamim Iqbal’s return was also big news amid the performance of the newcomers. Tamim, who returned to competitive cricket after seven months, scored 190 runs in four matches. Tamim batted at a strike rate of 150, which is much higher than his career strike rate (116.96) in this edition.