Liton up, Liton down
It can be considered that Liton Kumar Das has seen the other side of the coin much earlier in his career than he anticipated. His entry to the Bangladesh team midway this year was applauded in several quarters, given the recently-turned 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman’s precocious talent. With a staggering average of 85.33, including five hundreds and three fifties, Liton piled up 1024 runs for Rangpur Division in seven matches to top the National Cricket League 2014-15 season’s run chart. He followed the feat by finishing second in the 50-over Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League’s scorers’ list, racking up 686 runs in 16 matches for Abahani.
He thrilled with his quick feet and short-arm jabs in his maiden Test against India and although he is considered as the serious long-term replacement of Mushfiqur Rahim, he hasn’t glazed since. Rumours are, Liton grew over confident after the fruitful domestic season and national call-up, and we all know what that can do to one’s head. Five months in and after a series of poor batting performances for both Bangladesh and Bangladesh A and Comilla Victorians, the axe finally fell on him. His national and Victorians captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza, who defended the youngster in the past when he played in the ODIs despite the low run of scores, made the call following scores of nine and three and given the superb form Victorians are in, Liton will find it hard to make it back into the best XI.
Al Amin is back, better and stronger
The national pacer went through a horrid time after the Bangladesh team management sent him back midway through the 2015 ICC World Cup in February after he allegedly broke the team rules and stayed out late at night. The news spread like wildfire and considering Bangladesh’s history, this was the very first instance of such ill-discipline. Al Amin Hossain, who even passed the suspected bowling action test before the World Cup, flew back home from Brisbane and kept himself out of the radar in the next couple of months. It surely was a painful time for him as Al Amin, who was just 10 ODIs old and a member of the Tigers’ four-man pace attack at the time, sat back and watched his side rise to the occasion.
Bangladesh had played Pakistan, South Africa and India at home after that but it seemed Al Amin was a choice the selectors avoided as the rumours floated “his career with the national side is over.” He went unnoticed in the National Cricket League, but still continued to work hard on his own. When Taskin Ahmed and Rubel Hossain fell prey to injuries before Zimbabwe’s arrival last month, the recall might just have come for Al Amin as a blessing. He took four scalps in the 3-0 ODI win and five more in the two T20Is to find back his rhythm and more importantly, contributing to the team’s success again. In the BPL, he single-handedly won Barisal Bulls a low-scoring match against Sylhet Super Stars by taking five wickets, including a hattrick, for 36 runs. He is bowling fast, on line, in rhythm on the field while he also developed his spoken English which is required off the field these days.
Curse for the Super Stars
The ugly and unthinkable incident that marred the BPL’s image seemed to have left a curse on the Sylhet Super Stars as well, who, after the first phase in Dhaka, are yet to get off the mark in the points table. Led by one of the most complete cricketers in the country, Mushfiqur Rahim, the side went agonisingly close to winning on three occasions but only ended up on the wrong side of the equation. It all started in the second day of the tournament when the Super Stars employed an embarrassing method to start their campaign. The toss was delayed for 26 minutes and the overall start by more than an hour. Sylhet fielded Englishmen Ravi Bopara and Josh Cobb, who didn’t have their names on the submitted players’ list and no No-Objection Certificates before the toss was completed, which triggered Tamim Iqbal’s short temper as the Chittagong Vikings skipper barged out, after entering to bat, in protest.
What was more surprising was the fact that the Bangladesh Test captain Mushfiq complied with whoever suggested the unethical approach and led the team to the field. What was uglier was the fact that the SSS franchise owner abused Tamim on the ground during all these, and attracted more hatred from the neutral spectators. They eventually lost that match in the last ball by just one run and the next day too, against Barisal Bulls. Chasing a mere 109 against Rangpur Riders, they fell short by six runs while Dhaka outplayed them on Friday by 34 runs. Sylhet do have quite a balanced side, but it is probably the mindset of the team that is not correct. However, turning to Chittagong and “for the greater interest of the game” we all hope Sylhet will be able to get at least something in their bag other than harsh criticism.
