Sylhet phase ends on an underwhelming note

Before the start of the 2024 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the tournament's technical committee chairman Raqibul Hasan said the tournament would see run-fests. But 180 or more has been scored in only five out of 20 matches in the ongoing season of the country's franchise-based tournament which means things have remained more or less the same.

The just-concluded Sylhet phase of the BPL left a lot to be desired. Sluggish pitches were on offer, spinners had batting line-ups rattled, local players kept failing, and overseas players hogged the limelight. 

The tournament moved to Sylhet from the much-maligned Mirpur after eight matches. The Sylhet International Cricket Stadium promised high-scoring affairs as the pitch there is known as one of the most batting-friendly ones in Bangladesh.

Before the start of the tournament, Sylhet's run rate in T20s was 8.1, only bettered by the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. But much to the disappointment of the crowd, they were presented with games where spin had the major say instead of the batters. 

The match between Rangpur Riders and Sylhet Strikers was the final game of the Sylhet phase and the overall run rate in the 12 matches there was 7.47, less than that in Mirpur this year (7.67).

Rangpur's spin trio of Mohammad Nabi, Mahedi Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan shared eight wickets among them against Sylhet. This match pretty much summed up how helpful the pitches were to spinners. They conceded just 6.65 runs per over in the Sylhet phase.

The phase saw overseas players, mostly all-rounders, taking centre stage and delivering match-winning performances. The Player of the Match award went to foreign players in eight out of 12 matches. The likes of Mohammad Nawaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Dasun Shanaka and Curtis Campher won matches for their respective teams.

Afghanistan all-rounder Omarzai emerged as Rangpur's saviour, starring in almost every game and leading the team's resurgence. He has been the most valuable player of the tournament but unfortunately has to leave to join his national team for an ODI series against Sri Lanka starting 9 February.

The BPL's technical committee said the main reason why they wanted batting-friendly pitches in the tournament was the T20 World Cup, to be held in June. So, the performance of the national-team players is an important thing but the returns have diminished for most of them big time.

Litton Das has 37 runs in five games while Najmul Hossain Shanto is struggling with 73 runs in seven outings. Rony Talukdar has already lost his place in the Rangpur Riders XI after a string of low scores. 

Soumya Sarkar has looked promising in patches but is yet to make a substantial contribution. 

Lower middle-order batters like Shamim Hossain and Afif Hossain have also failed to make a mark.

Although his team has been in tatters, left-handed batter Zakir Hasan has been the third-highest run-getter in the tournament with a strike-rate of close to 130. He could well find a place in the higher middle order in the national team.

Mahmudullah and Nurul Hasan stepped up in the Sylhet phase and could be in line for a T20I comeback with the national team's designated finishers not being able to create an impact.

Sylhet Strikers took a great initiative towards the end of the phase. They donned a special green jersey to commemorate the International Mother Language Day, to be held on 21 February. The names and numbers in the jerseys were written in Bengali. 

But their on-field fortunes have not flipped. Their regular captain Mashrafe Mortaza, who had been struggling big time with the ball, took a break for political work. Sylhet managed to register their first win of the tournament in the phase, but lost the next game again to languish in the bottom of the points table.

Another member of Bangladesh's famed fab five, Shakib Al Hasan, has been struggling with an eye condition and the all-rounder has often been reduced to a lower-order batter because of visibility issues. Though his bowling form remains good, the all-rounder admitted that he is disappointed to play with just "one skill" for the first time in his career. 

In the last press conference of the Sylhet phase, Shakib said he's trying to find out the problem with him. Just like him, the BPL has to find out its problems and solve them quickly.