Mashrafe bin Mortaza, captain of Sylhet Strikers, is at the center of discussions in the cricketing fraternity for leading his team to four straight victories at the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 2023. Mashrafe is being credited for leading Sylhet dressing room that is a mix of youth and experience.
The occasion is the first for the Sylhet region to scale such heights as the table-toppers lead the way with four wins and eight points.
Sylhet's best ever BPL campaign was in 2013 when they finished third.
Mashrafe, following the 62-run win against Dhaka Dominators at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium Tuesday, ever the team man said the result so far has been due to a combined effort. Sylhet in their first game this year defeated Chattogram Challengers by eight wickets before registering their second victory by six wickets against Fortune Barishal. In their third game, the Strikers beat defending champions Comilla Victorians by five wickets.
“All members of the team are trying hard from the very start. You cannot control the result on the field but the management has been brilliant in managing the off field matters so that there is positivity when the players are on the field,” said Mashrafe to the media. “So, I think it is not only about me but the whole team,” the most successful ODI captain of Bangladesh added.
BPL like many past editions has been facing heavy criticism for irregularities. Mashrafe was one of those who opined that the tournament can be organized in a much better manner. The veteran right-arm fast bowler with the completion of the first phase of the tournament though emphasized on the quality of cricket that has been played thus far.
“This has been possible because of the good wicket we have seen at Mirpur. Usually you find good wickets only when you play in Chittagong. The wicket has been fantastic so far in Dhaka. Such wickets not only improve the quality of cricket but also allows to develop cricketers. This is a positive sign that we have seen some good matches amid all the criticism,” Mashrafe explained.
Not having Decision Review System in place is one major reason why the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the BPL Governing Council copped flak and questions have been raised on the quality of the decisions coming from the umpires. There have been incidents when the cricketers got involved in altercation with the umpires.
“Some questions are there [on quality of umpiring] to be honest and it depends on the umpires to take their quality up. You can always bring foreign umpires but I believe it is better to give the locals the opportunity first. Some decisions will go wrong as there is no DRS available,” said Mashrafe.
Courtesy: Dhaka Tribune
December 9, 2016