Bhatia, Mithun to play for local giants
Sports Reporter
Indian all-rounders Rajat Bhatia and Mithun Manhas are expected to arrive in Dhaka to play the remaining matches of the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) for two local club teams.
Jammu-born Manhas, who played for Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Pune Warriors in IPL, even his name was also in IPL players draft this year, will be seen to play for Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited.
The right-handed batsman will play for the table-toppers in place of Upul Thanranga, who left Dhaka for Colombo on May 17 after the end of the seventh round games.
Sri Lankan discard Tharanga made his presence felt in DPL by his purple patch as he played seventh round games and scored 70, 21, 71, 47, 90*, 77* and 10 for Mohammedan, who are in pole position with 10 points.
Mohammedan team manager Wasim Khan admitted the matter and said that they fetch Mithun Manhas in place of Upul Tharanga for the next round games.
You know Upul Tharanga has already left Dhaka for Colombo to join with Sri Lankan team. The next round matches of the league are crucial. And so, were being brought in Indian cricketer Mithun Manhas as Tharangas replacement, said Wasim Khan.
Manhas is slated to arrive and join with the team in Dhaka on May 23, just one day ahead of the start of the eighth round games, Khan told The Independent.
Braving the incessant downpours, which was sweeping across the country by the influence of the tropical cyclone Roanu, Mohammedan held their practice at morning session at Mirpur Indoor Stadium yesterday.
Were doing our training as part of our regular practice. Weve to play some more rounds, which are important ahead of the Super Six. We all want to keep the continuation of our recent performance there, said Ariful Haque after the end of the training session in Mirpur.
On the other hand, Mohammedans arch-rival Abahani Limited, who formed the most balanced team on paper by courtesy of the Players by Choice system, yet to show their true potential, are now placed in ninth position with six points. They needed to show all guns blazing in the next round matches to progress to the Super Six.
And so, the Sky-Blues are also planning to bolster their struggling squad by bringing in a spin or pace-allrounder foreign player to claw back in the race for going into the Super Six stage.
It is learnt that theyre fetching all-rounder Rajat Bhatia, who is now playing for Rising Pune Supergiants, who already derailed from the competition though theyve one match remained against Kings XI Punjab at Vishakapatnam on May 21.
After concluding his IPL stint, Delhi-born Bhatia is expected to head to Bangladesh on May 23 and join with Abahani. Manoj Tiwary will be replayed by Bhatia.
Its known from the close source that pacer Shahadat Hossain Rajib got the nod from teams physio to play the games. If everything is in place he might be seen to return his action after a long hiatus with Abahanis next round match.
Im regularly practicing to be fit for games. Now Im fully prepared for the games. If I get chance to play Ill try to give my best for the team, said Rajib.
