The new season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is all set to begin on January 21, but with three days to go no team has started official practice yet!
According to the official practice schedule, every team was to start their preparation on January 15— the day when only a few players were seen at the BCB Academy Ground— the only practice ground for all BPL teams in Dhaka.
On Monday, Comilla Victorians, Fortune Barishal and Minister Group Dhaka have held unofficial practice sessions with some of the players of their respective squads. The other three teams— Chattogram Challengers, Khulna Tigers and Sylhet Sunrisers— were not even seen in unofficial practice sessions.
“There is a lot of cricket around,” Mohammad Salahuddin, coach of the Victorians told the media on Monday.
“We have to take care of the workload of the cricketers as well. The players who had travelled to New Zealand recently need some time before getting back to the field. They probably are suffering from mental fatigue due to excessive amount of time in bio-bubble.”
The Victorians held an unofficial practice session on Monday. They hope that they can start official training within the next day or two.
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mahmudullah Riyad, the superstar-duo of the Minister Group Dhaka, were at the BCB Academy Ground on Monday. But their team is yet to host their first official practice session yet.
On Monday evening, Dhaka unveiled its official kit. It’s expected that Dhaka would start the official practice session on Tuesday. Chattogram Challengers have also unveiled their kit on Monday afternoon.
Sylhet Sunrisers are scheduled to start preparation on Tuesday, as their media department confirmed UNB on Monday evening. Chattogram Challengers and Khulna Tigers are also expected to start official preparation on Monday.
Most of the foreign players are yet to join their respective teams. Along with them, the players of the Bangladesh national team are also having some time with their families after a long time.
A total of six teams are taking part in this year’s BPL which will be played across three venues in Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet.
Source: United News of Bangladesh