The eagerly-anticipated players by choice draft of the upcoming third edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 will be held today.
Besides other agendas, the issue of the six icon cricketers will reach a conclusion today. Initially, the BPL governing council decided to assign the icons – Shakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe bin Mortaza and Nasir Hossain – to different franchises with their consent but opposition from the participating teams has forced the ruling body of the cash-rich tournament to opt for a lottery.
And according to dashing opening batsman Tamim, who played for Duronto Rajshahi in the first two editions as opposed to his hometown of Chittagong, it does not really matter whichever franchise he is allocated as he is a professional cricketer.
“As I am a Chittagong lad, everyone wants me to play for my local franchise. However, I still do not know which team I am going to play for this season. With that said, as a professional player I will give my hundred percent whichever team I eventually play for,” Tamim informed the media during an agreement signing ceremony with Goldmark Biscuits at a city hotel yesterday.
The 26-year old added that although Australia postponed their two-Test series against Bangladesh this month, the Tigers cricketers are hardly sitting idle as they are currently busy playing the ongoing Walton 17th National Cricket League.
“It was disappointing to miss out on the series against Australia and I do not know the exact reasons. I do not know when the tour will eventually take place as the Bangladesh Cricket Board is looking into the matter. I do not want to comment on this issue. However, the cricketers are busy playing the NCL and I think it will help us as we are playing the tournament after a long time,” he said.
Following the postponement of the Australia Tests, Bangladesh’s next assignment is against Zimbabwe at home.
The Tigers will face the Zimbabweans in three ODIs, two Tests and as many T20 internationals, and Tamim opined that the visitors will pose a stern test of their credentials. Zimbabwe recently beat Ireland 2-1 in a three-ODI series and are currently leading Afghanistan 2-1 in a five-ODI series.
During yesterday’s programme, Tamim also revealed his plans of staging a cricket tournament in Chittagong in the memory of his late father Iqbal Khan. Tamim said the tournament will help to identify potential future Bangladesh cricketers.
“I am planning to stage a cricket tournament in memory of my late father in Chittagong where the main target will be to find young and talented players. I hope we will discover at least 10 players who will represent Bangladesh in future. In the past, Chittagong produced a host of national players and I hope the golden days will return,” the southpaw concluded.