The ongoing Bangabandhu T20 Cup is probably the first complete domestic cricket competition with the participation of only the local cricketers taking part which the Bangladesh Cricket Board opted to telecast live through an international broadcaster.
The demand was there from the local cricketers to have an all domestic T20 competition in the calendar where the local cricketers could get the flavour of a franchise based experience.
The BCB eventually decided to hold the Bangabandhu T20 Cup with no foreign players involving in this tournament, thus the maximum number of local cricketers got the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Real Impact are the broadcasters of the ongoing Bangabandhu T20 where T Sports, country’s first fully sports based channel, is telecasting the matches.
It was a huge challenge when it comes to adapt the new normal in the current pandemic situation and when it comes to arrange the tournament for the BCB. The board has been successful to create the health safety, creating a bio-secure bubble and ensured constant corona virus testing of the players, match officials and ground staff.
Much like the people related to the field, it was also a huge challenge for the broadcasters to run the show smoothly under tough conditions.
Around sixty crew members are working behind the broadcasting for Real Impact coming from various parts of the world such as India and South Africa. The entire crew including the commentators was also kept in a bio-secure bubble and maintaining all the health protocols accordingly.
Athar Ali Khan, Shamim Chowdhury, Ed Rainsford, Anjum Chopra, Niall O’ Brien,Mazhar Uddin and ShahriarNafees are commentators in this tournament.
O'Brien, however, left halfway of the tournament due to personal reasons.
Much like the cricketers, the commentators are also experiencing the life inside the bio-secure bubble and undergoing corona virus tests frequently.
Real Impact equipped with all the support systems for DRS along with graphical and hawk-eye technology in place and has maintained a much smoother broadcasting in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup so far.
It will be important for the BCB to arrange such tournaments regularly and ensure live telecasting will surely promote the local talents which will give the youngsters to get the exposure and experience of a competitive cricket in the presence of the top cricketers of the country.