Sunday, October 20, 2013
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Associate players eyeing BPL platform
The players who were snapped up at the player auction earlier this month were Alex Kervezee (Netherlands), Kyle Coetzer (Scotland), Rizwan Cheema (Canada), Niall O'Brien (Ireland), Hamid Hassan (Afghanistan) and Freddie Klocker (Denmark). For them, the league is an opportunity to showcase their talents alongside international stars and in front of packed stadiums.
"This is kind of the world stage," Cheema told ESPNcricinfo. "Playing with international players, all the top players from around the world, it is a big chance for the associate players to show their abilities."
Cheema hammered 93 off 71 balls against England in a practice match before the 2011 World Cup to become an instant star in Dhaka. He was bought by Duronto Rajshahi for US$25,000. Their coach, Khaled Mashud, said Cheema was captain Mushfiqur Rahim's choice. "He is a good all-round cricketer and though we had some options on the table, we went for him," Mashud said. Cheema will be playing alongside the likes of West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels, Pakistan allrounder Abdul Razzaq and South Africa legspinner Imran Tahir. He said the tournament will be a great way to get vital experience before the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 qualifiers in March, where he will be Canada's vice-captain. "There is a lot to learn because there are so many people coming from all over the world."
The BPL is expected to draw big crowds for its first season and Cheema, who averages 30 at a strike rate of 121.38 from eight Twenty20 internationals, said that playing in front of a lot of people would be great motivation. "It gives you more energy and it really, really excites you. You want to do well when you see a lot of people around. It gives me more confidence."
At 22, Alexei Kervezee is the youngest of the Associate country players to be bought. Despite his relative youth, he has already played two World Cups and has played with Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan at Worcestershire. He was bought by Dhaka Gladiators for $35,000. "Kervezee is a stable middle-order batsman and a good team-mate," Shihab Chowdhury, one of the franchise's owners, said. "He was recommended by our coach Ian Pont, who was with the Dutch team a few years ago."
Among Kervezee's team-mates are West Indies allrounder Kieron Pollard, Pakistan offsinner Saeed Ajmal and former Australia legspinner Stuart MacGill, and he said he was looking forward to picking their brains. "Being team-mates with proven high quality players of the likes of Ajmal, MacGill and Pollard, people like that, I can take advantage of that to become a better player. I think it will help me become an overall better player in Twenty20 cricket."
Lurking in the background, is, of course, the possibility of an IPL contract should any of the players excel. "You want to do well so the people can see you," Cheema said. "If you do well, you might get a chance to play for the IPL."
Beyond the potential monetary rewards though, the BPL gives the Associate players a chance to hone their skills in a different part of the world. "That's the professional life," Cheema said. "Go and play in different countries and with different types of players. Makes you stronger mentally, and technically too."
BPL will put local players in spotlight - Dean Jones
"The great thing about this tournament is that the players can rub shoulders with Murali, Tamim and Dwayne Bravo," Jones said. "[For the young players], getting to see how good they are against experienced players is really important. I think it will really bring the best out of some players. Some players will fail but some players will do very well."
The BPL has been hampered by some of the high-profile buys pulling out due to international or domestic commitments. The Kings will be without Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan allrounder, and West Indies opener Lendl Simmons. "Everyone has got that problem," Jones said. "We're looking for replacements now as we speak; who they are I'm not going to disclose.
"We've got players coming in on the morning of February 10 [date of the opening fixture] because they are playing first-class matches in Pakistan and the West Indies or something. We've just got to roll with the punches, get them ready and off we go."
The Kings will be coached by former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mahmud and have Michael Bevan, the former Australia batsman, as their batting consultant, with Jones advising the coaching staff. "Khaled Mahmud is my eyes and ears; he is helping me communicate with the Bangladeshi boys and understand their roles as well," Jones said. "Of course we have Michael Bevan and we have bowling and fielding coaches. I am very happy with my coaching staff."
Jones said the BPL would help Bangladesh cricket because it will give the local players the experience of playing under the spotlight. "I think it will give them more exposure, more awareness, it will put them under more pressure, under lights, in front of big crowds. Sometimes you'll get hurt and get beaten. And then you've got to work on your strengths and weakness to come back.
"I think it couldn't come at a better time really for the Bangladesh people and the players. They needed this, I think they wanted this. They need to get out of their comfort zone and now they are going to find out how good they are."
Pollard and Afridi give Dhaka star appeal
A batting line-up that boasts Kieron Pollard, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed and has the likelihood of adding Shahid Afridi in the tournament's latter stages promises plenty of big hits and a genuine flutter in the hearts of a bowling attack, let alone a single bowler.
Ashraful and Aftab are perhaps the cleanest hitters of cricket balls in the country while the lively Nazir can bring down the house with his strokes; there's hardly anything left to say for Pollard and Afridi.
But fans of the country's largest division must be realists too. Ashraful hasn't been among runs for years while Aftab hasn't been the force since returning from the rebel Indian Cricket League. Nazir's international career is also stalled, which means that Nazimuddin, Darren Stevens and Alexei Kervezee will have to bear the responsibilities when the big-hitters fall early.
The bowling attack looks like a strong unit with Naved-Ul-Hasan leading the way. The injury-prone Mashrafe Mortaza is now good enough for a four-over spell and could surprise a batsman or two with his odd burst of pace while the spinners Stuart MacGill, Elias Sunny and Mosharraf Hossain are more than capable of keeping things quiet.
Dhaka Gladiators will also be smart behind the stumps with Dhiman Ghosh expected to pip Anamul Haque in the wicketkeeping position though the latter is a talented top-order batsman.
Star Attraction
For Dhaka to have Shahid Afridi play for them, the rest of the players have to get the franchise into the last four which is quite possible. Afridi's presence, despite all the conflicting reports, could take the franchise and the tournament itself to a different level. The Pakistan all-rounder's popularity is tremendous in these parts and if he plays in a semi-final or a final, it could be the biggest boost for the BPL.
Top player
But before Afridi though, it has to be Kieron Pollard who would be have to do all the running for Dhaka. A robust all-rounder with the ability to turn a Twenty20 game on its head, Pollard has had some success in Bangladesh in the past. His change of pace would come in hand on the low and slow wickets of Chittagong but it would ultimately be his big-hitting ability that would make all the difference.
Under the radar
Aftab Ahmed has T20 skills all over his batting. He has all the shots in the book and some more. But he has been out of the national squad for two years and past his best days for a longer time. Some late form in the domestic one-day competition could bring the best out of Aftab once more.
Mohammad Isam is senior sports reporter at the Daily Star in Dhaka
Mashrafe reports spot-fixing approach
"I have told my team management [about the approach] and I'm sure they will do the right thing," Mashrafe told ESPNcricinfo. Gladiators media manager Minhaz Uddin Khan confirmed the report and said the franchise had passed on the information to the BPL.
The story was first reported in Thursday morning's Dhaka papers, which included a quote from Mashrafe saying he would step down from the team captaincy if he suspected any irregularities once the tournament got underway.
The reports said Mashrafe was asked to provide information on whether he would play certain matches and even whether he'd be wearing his sunglasses or cap. In exchange, he was told, he would be paid 15-20% of the earnings from the spot-betting.
However, there is some confusion over the details of the approach - the date and place - and which officials are in the loop regarding this. Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar, who is an advisor to the Gladiators, told ESPNcricinfo that he informed BPL governing council chairman Gazi Ashraf Hossain of the incident on Tuesday; however, the league's secretary Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir said on Thursday morning he was not aware of any such report and had learned of it in the papers.
"We have found out after reading the newspaper reports. I don't understand why he went to the press first before telling us. There's a proper process for all this," Alamgir said. "If he had reported it to us, we would have started investigation right away. But even now, we will talk to Mashrafe and take his official statement."
Alamgir confirmed that an ICC ACSU officer is already in Dhaka for the BPL and will be made aware of this new information. "The protocol is for the player to report to the BPL governing council or for the franchise owners to report to BPL. None of them have done that before the news was published in the media. I will also tell our ACSU officer about the incident and we'll conduct whatever is necessary in this situation."
Mohammad Isam is senior sports reporter at the Daily Star in Dhaka
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