Shoriful Islam, a pacer for Bangladesh, left for Sri Lanka on Saturday to take part in his first franchise league experience outside of Bangladesh. He will be playing for the Proteas.
Colombo Strikers have signed the left-arm fast bowler in preparation for the upcoming fourth season of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), a 20-over competition that will begin on July 30 and continue until August 20.
“Playing in a league for the first time is a thrilling experience for everyone. Today, when speaking to reporters at the airport, Shoriful said, “I’m also a little bit excited.”
The lanky pacer, who will be competing against other Sri Lankans Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, and Mohammad Mithun in the LPL, is hoping to get the most out of his experience in the LPL since Sri Lanka will be co-hosting the 2018 Asia Cup, which will begin on August 31.
“Definitely [LPL experience] will help, because getting used to the wickets and the conditions might give a better idea [for the Asia Cup],” said the 22-year-old, who has so far taken 34 scalps in 31 T20 Internationals. “Getting used to the wickets and the conditions might give a better idea [for the Asia Cup],” he continued.
“Whenever I get the opportunity, I will do the very best that I can. The majority of cricket players get expertise by participating in franchise competitions, and I want to do the same thing.
Shoriful may find a wealth of motivation by looking up to fellow fast bowler Taskin Ahmed, who is currently the top wicket-taker in the current iteration of the Zim-Afro T10 being played in Zimbabwe.
“Everyone is happy when a cricketer from their country plays well in a league outside of their country,” you may say.
However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had already decided not to provide Taskin a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the LPL because of their worries on workload management.