Fortune Barishal and Comilla Victorians are all set to lock their horns in the final of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Friday.
Shakib Al Hasan, the captain of Barishal, and Bangladesh’s best known all-rounders has a great opportunity to guide his team to the maiden title. He has won the BPL title on a number of occasions previously for several teams.
Shakib was not present in the last practice session ahead of the final. Sources close to Barishal said that Shakib was suffering from “stomach ache”.
However, Shakib was not available to clear why he was not present at the last practice session.
Instead of him, Nurul Hasan Sohan was seen in the trophy unveiling event. Khaled Mahmud, the most successful coach of BPL, is confident about the good show of Shakib once again in the final.
“Our only target is to win the title,” Mahmud told the media on Thursday.
“We played really tough cricket to come to this stage. We are confident of lifting the title. And as a captain, Shakib has been doing very well. He has been leading from the front. When the captain plays well, everything becomes easier.”
Shakib has scored 277 runs and scalped 15 wickets for Barishal so far. No other Barishal batter scored more than him, and Dwayne Bravo has taken only two more wickets than Shakib.
This stat is enough to prove how dependent are Barisal on the southpaw. Even the coach of Barishal’s final opponent Comilla Victorians, Mohammed Salahuddin, also believes that they have to play against the ‘brain” of Shakib in the final.
“The biggest strength Barishal have is Shakib,” Salahuddin said. “He has been doing fantastic as the captain. They defended some low-scoring affairs. He used his resources in the most effective way. So have to fight against him in the final.”
Comilla coach also said that his counterpart Mahmud has something special in him that made him the most successful coach in the history of BPL.
Comilla captain Imrul Kayes reckons that Shakib is more experienced than him as a captain as the latter led the Tigers in many matches in international cricket.
“Shakib is so proactive in the field, and he is more experienced than me,” Imrul told the media on Thursday. “I will also try to do more as a captain.”
Imrul has a good chance to become the only second captain after Mashrafe Bin Mortaza to win the title of BPL on more than one occasion. Mashrafe won four BPL titles while Imrul won one as the captain of the Victorians.
While Shakib was the sharpest weapon in Barishal’s arsenal, Faf du Plessis, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Moeen Ali, Mustafizur Rahman have done well for Victorians. Having more match-winners than Barishal is keeping Victorians, the two-time BPL champions, slightly ahead of Barsihal in the final.
But the players Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo are yet to display their batting prowess that can change the fate of the match at any moment. And along with them, Munim Shahriar also drew the attention of many with his power-hitting ability. The right-handed batter can also win for Barishal.
Source: United News of Bangladesh