Durdanto Dhaka pacer Shoriful Islam’s maiden T20 hattrick, teams comfortably posting and chasing totals of over 150, and a large crowd at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur — the opening day of the 10th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) had plenty to keep cricket fans interested.
Aside from this, one other item drew viewers’ attention yesterday. It was how Sylhet Strikers captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza got started.
From introducing ludicrous regulations, such as making it mandatory for teams to have a leg-spinner and a fast bowler who clocks more over 140kph in 2019, to obvious graphical mistakes made by broadcasters, the BPL has always found a way to stay in the spotlight for odd reasons.
The current season of the country’s only franchise-based T20 competition kicked off Wednesday, as usual, with a lot of promises. Competitiveness, of course, is a continual promise from the BPL, which began over a decade ago with the goal of following in the footsteps of the most successful and well watched franchise league, the Indian Premier League.
However, when a 40-year-old Mashrafe, far past his heyday, made three steps and bowled Imranuzzaman with his first ball, it demonstrated why the BPL may be lagging behind other fast-evolving and high-demanding franchise leagues throughout the world.
Read More.
BPL: A league with no purpose.
The strangeness of Mashrafe’s bowling run-up, combined with the fact that it was the cricketer’s first competitive bowling appearance in over eight months, made the situation even more comical. The former Bangladesh captain, who is now a governing party lawmaker, last competed in the Dhaka Premier League in May last year.
The most successful Bangladesh skipper, however, was unable to guide his team to victory yesterday, as Mashrafe’s Sylhet Strikers lost seven wickets to Chattogram Challengers at Mirpur. Mashrafe finished a dismal day with a score of one for 25 in 2.3 overs.
With the incorporation of new technology, such as the availability of the Decision Review System (DRS) throughout the full tournament for the first time, this edition of the BPL seemed to have finally taken the first steps in the right direction.
The 43-day tournament has only just begun, and it is much too early to assess or anticipate how it will ultimately unfold. However, one area where the BPL excelled on opening day was its well-known ability to entertain supporters in its own distinctive style.