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Abahani prove them as a professional unit
BCB presents a see-saw Dhaka Premier League
Sports Reporter
The Dhaka Premier League (DPL) has been the centre of all attraction in the last one and half a month. With no international cricket of Bangladesh team was scheduled, all of the national players barring Mustafizur Rahman played the league almost from the start for the first time after many years. The national heros participation made the league competitive and keenly contested with six teams simultaneously was in the race of clinching the title. Domestic powerhouse Abahani Limited eventually emerged as the champions by regaining the title after four years but not before some drama was staged At one point, their possibility to move into the super league was at stake but Shakib Al Hasans inclusion after his IPL stint bolstered the team strength. They evolved into a stronger outfit and won 10 matches at a stretch (including the four matches of super league) to secure the title for the record 18th times. However the league will be remembered for some eventful incidents that many ways took the gloss off from the league but there are also some incidents that made it more glamorous and treat to watch.
Intense competition: As BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon said he never saw such kind of tightly contested DPL, it was surely so. Only two points separated the six teams which moved into the super league and all of them had the chance to clinch it. But Abahanis ruthless form in the super league made the difference. by virtue of players of choice, every team had formed a balanced side which in a sense contributed in making the league keenly contested. The BCBs effort to make the tournament more attractive thus was fulfilled.
Abahani players show the guts: Sometimes necessarily but most of the time unnecessarily Abahani was blamed to have got the favour of umpires and the allegation was made time and again, leaving the BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon, who was the chairman of Abahani Cricket Committee before he took charge of countrys cricket apex board, restless. Sometimes his name was also involved into the matter and those favouritism of umpires stories crossed the boundary line to be a topic in ICC meeting. Papon was in a state of shock and watched six games of Abahani thereafter to understand whether the Dhanmondi outfit got any support from the umpires. Instead he found four decisions in the six matches went against Abahani. The allegation also put an adverse impact on the Abahani players but they showed guts to put the issues behind them to play like a professional unit. Their perseverance paid off eventually.
Safety of the helmets in question: A nasty blow on the neck of Victoria Sporting Club all-rounder Suhrawardi Shuvo raised concern of the adequate protection of the helmet. The incident reminded all the necessity of using the newly designed helmets with stem-guards. Majority of the players in Bangladesh cricket use helmets which meet the safety standard but when it comes to protecting the back of the head and the neck, safety is surprisingly unattended. Comfort is certainly an issue but Shuvos accident should make all realise that the comfort is a small price to pay for being safe.
Sudden illness of umpires: The umpiring was not at its best in the DPL. There were some wrong decisions made but what left the countrys cricket fraternity in a state of confusion was umpires-Gazi Sohel and Tanvir Ahmeds refusal to officiate the match due to their illness. They felt sick after a verbal altercation with Abahani skipper Tamim Iqbal during his sides match against Prime Doleshwar. Match referee Montu Dutta even couldnt convince them as surprisingly both of the umpires became sick. The match was postponed and latter a four-member committee led by umpires committee chairman Nazmul Hossain Tinku gave the verdict of sharing the points between the two teams.
Tamim and Nasir fined: Both Tamim Iqbal and Nasir Hossain were fined for their involvement in postponing the match between Abahani Limited and Prime Doleshwar. While Tamim was slapped with Tk. 100,000 fine and one match suspension. Nasir Hossain was also fined of Tk. 20,000. The four-member committee also rebuked the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) for not being able to deal with the matter properly.
League flooded by Indian players:
The Dhaka league saw a flurry of high profile Indian players in this season with the likes of Yousuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary, Unmukt Chand, Sachin Baby, Manvinder Bisla, Dinesh Karthik and few other high-profile names were part of the competition this season. But there was another reason of the unavailability of the Pakistani cricketers. Pakistani cricketers have always been the preferred by the clubs but they were denied of selection due to lengthy visa process.
Roqibul and Chaturanga lead the way: Prime Doleshwar Sporting Clubs Roqibul Hassan became the highest run-getter of the league with 719 runs. He was followed by Abahani captain Tamim Iqbal who scored 714 runs with two centuries and four half-centuries. Tamim made the highest individual score in the league, smashing 132 ball-142 against Prime Bank Cricket Club in the last round match of the league. Victorias Chaturanga de Silva was the highest wicket-taker, claiming 30 wickets.
Bowling review committee formed at last: A four-member committee headed by Jalal Younus, a former fast bowler and currently the chairman of media and communication, was formed to review the bowling action of the bowlers in the league in a bid to take an action against the chucker and helped them clear their action. Former leg-spinner Omar Khaled Rumi, fast bowler Golam Faruk Chowdhury Suru and Dipu Chowdhury are in the committee. They will review the video footage of the bowlers in the league and take necessary steps.
