Who did Bangladesh get in the T20 player scouting tournament
The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s aim in bringing back the T20 version of the National Cricket League after almost a decade was to find those new faces.
Who did Bangladesh get in the T20 player scouting tournament
‘In search of new faces’ – At one time, the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (FDC) was busy organizing this event to find heroes and heroines. The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s aim in bringing back the T20 version of the National Cricket League after almost a decade was to find those new faces. During the national team’s tour of the West Indies, the eight-team tournament became a big stage for players outside the national team to make themselves known.
Just as the completely new players took the limelight on that stage, those who were dropped from the national team also performed to demand their return. The names of the two players who took the most runs and the most wickets indicate that the objective of organizing the tournament was largely successful.
The name of the batsman who scored the most runs is Mohammad Naeem. Naeem made his T20 debut in Bangladesh’s victory over Delhi in 2019. The opener, who started his international career with T20s, later played ODIs and Tests. However, Naeem did not get a call-up to the national team after playing the 2023 Asia Cup ODI due to his loss of form.
Naeem played a major role in taking Dhaka Metropolitan to the final in the National League T20. In the second qualifier, he scored 57 runs off 53 balls to lead the team to victory in a short-run match against Khulna. The Metropolitan captain scored a tournament-high 316 runs in 10 innings of 10 matches with 3 fifties. Naeem's strike rate of 135.04, including 11 sixes.
Naeem's next name in batting can be called an advertisement for the future of Bangladesh cricket. 7 sixes in 8 balls, a century off 52 balls - Zeeshan Alam created a storm in the opening match of the National League T20. This batsman of the Bangladesh Under-19 team then scored two more fifties for Sylhet. Zeeshan, who scored 281 runs at a strike rate of 158.75, hit 22 sixes. No other batsman has hit more than 17 sixes in this tournament.
Habibur Rahman, who hit the second most sixes with 17, is also in the top five in terms of total runs. Habibur, who earned the name of a hard-hitting batsman in the BPL, scored 259 runs at a strike rate of 160.86 for Rajshahi in the match.
Habibur, better known as Sohan to his teammates, is in the fourth place in the list of run-scorers. The name just above him with 266 runs is also Sohan, Nurul Hasan Sohan. Although the wicketkeeper batsman, who was dropped from the national team, has an average of 53.20, his strike rate is not very high—126.06.
The name of the fifth batsman in the top five is also surprising. Bangladesh captain Azizul Hakim, who won the Under-19 Asia Cup for Bangladesh a few days ago, played his first recognized T20. This cricketer nicknamed Tamim has scored 237 runs in 9 matches for Khulna at a strike rate of 136.99.
Apart from this, Imranuzzaman (228), Ariful Islam (213), Akbar Ali (208) and Toufiq Khan (200) have also crossed 200 with the bat. Among them, except Akbar, the other names are a bit unfamiliar.
Akbar, who won the Under-19 World Cup in 2020, has been re-introduced to the National League T20. Most of his World Cup-winning teammates have already played for the national team. Akbar, who has not yet had that opportunity, has made a strong demand this time. Akbar, who scored 208 runs at a strike rate of 149.64 with 14 sixes, has made the tournament's highest dismissals behind the wickets of 12. His captaincy has played a big role in making Rangpur the champion.
The top name in bowling is Alauddin Babu. The 33-year-old pace bowling all-rounder has re-introduced himself, taking 19 wickets. He surpassed Ahmed Sharif by 3 wickets in the final. Alauddin Babu also did well with the bat. He batted four times for Rangpur and scored 61 runs at a strike rate of 160.52.
Seeing the name in the second position, you may ask, 'Who is Ahmed Sharif?' The 20-year-old pacer made his debut in first-class cricket in the 2022-23 season. This bowler, who played for Chittagong, first caught the eye with 5 wickets against Rajshahi in the last season. Ahmed Sharif, who took 11 wickets in four matches, got a chance in the T20 version with that performance. Ahmed Sharif made himself known again by taking 17 wickets in his debut T20 tournament.
Rakibul Hasan, who is in the third position with 15 wickets, is working tirelessly to make himself known. A member of the U-19 World Cup-winning team, he took 15 wickets for the metropolis. The left-arm spinner, who gave away only 6.41 runs per over, has already had a taste of international cricket in the 2023 Asian Games. However, even if it is an international match, there is no reason to consider that Bangladesh team as the main national team. Rakibul is regularly playing well in domestic cricket and is demanding to play for the real national team.
After Rakibul, with 14 and 13 wickets, are Alish Al Islam and Abu Haider. These two have been regular performers in domestic T20s for many years. Abu Haider, who scored 123 runs at a strike rate of 164 with the bat, became the tournament's best.
Mukidul Islam was the man of the match in the final with 12 wickets. Chittagong left-arm pacer Fahad Hossain, who took 11 wickets, also caught the eye.
The return of Tamim Iqbal was also big news in this crowd of newcomers. Tamim, who returned to competitive cricket after seven months, scored 190 runs in four matches. Tamim batted at a strike rate of 150, which is much higher than his career strike rate (116.96) in this edition. Tamim, who played two innings of 65 and 91 runs for Chittagong, said it was not yet time to say the final word.
