The teams of different franchises are gearing up for the upcoming season of sixth Bangladesh premier League as several teams have trained hard on Wednesday at the BCB Academy Ground in Mirpur.
Five teams- Comilla Victorians, Chittagong Vikings, Rajshahi Kings, Sylhet Sixers and Dhaka Dynamites practiced on Wednesday while defending champion Rangpur Riders were yet to start their official practice session. According to team sources, Rangpur and Khulna was supposed to start their official practice session from today.
However, Rangpur captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza came to the academy ground and did take part in a light gym session. It was the first time Mashrafe took place in the gym session or part of training after winning the National Election from Narail-2 constitution on December 30. The Tigers ODI captain and Rangpur skipper informed he is fully focused on his cricket at the moment.
No foreign players were yet to arrive for the franchise teams when the report was filed in. It was learnt that players will start to come from Wednesday night.
Mohammad Ashraful caught the attention in the noon session during the practice of Chittagong Vikings.The right hander batted for almost 30 minutes in the nets in the practice. Ashraful, who has served a ban of five years, is all set to return at BPL, the tournament where match-fixing issues got him banned in 2013.
Ashraful is considering this as a fresh start and vows to perform well and repay the faith of the team management and his fans.
Rangpur Riders' captain Mashrafe bin Mortaz and Chittagong Vikings' batsman Miohammad Ashraful at the gym in Miprur on Wednesday Md Manik/Dhaka Tribune
“I played first class and Dhaka Premier League but those games are not telecast. BPL is an international tournament and I feel lucky to play here. I thank the owner of Chittagong Vikings for selecting me. I will try my best to perform well if I get chances,” Ashraful said to media on Wednesday.
“I have played 13 years in international cricket. I also played the first two editions of BPL. I played for the team that won on those occasions and I did well. I hope I can perform well for Chittagong and help them get good results,” he added.
Ashraful will play under the captaincy of Mushfiqur Rahim and national selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu is the mentor of Vikings team.
“My first captain in Premier League was Nannu Vai [Minhazul Abedin], and when Mushfiq made his debut for Bangladesh I was a regular member of the side. I am feeling good as we can play together. I did not have much discussion because all the Vikings players met one another for the first time today and made practice. Hopefully we will discuss in future,” said the former Bangladesh captain.
Title contenders Dhaka Dynamites took part in the practice session lead by captain Shakib Al Hasan. Coach Khaled Mahmud Sujon was happy as he thought his squad is strong and balanced.
“I think every team is strong this season. We will definitely target to become champion. But it will be difficult. In this format the momentum can be switched very quickly. We have good combination for foreign and local players. Every match is important for us. We need to reduce our mistakes in the game. First target will qualifying for top four, and then obviously become champion. Our plus point is, our captain, Shakib al Hasan is in good form and also captaining the side well. If he can perform like this then we can achieve something great this season,” Sujon said.
