Mushy wants another T20 tournament for locals
There has been some talk about the performance of local players in the Bangladesh Premier League not quite matching that of the foreign stars.
However, Chittagong Vikings skipper Mushfiqur Rahim said that it is always difficult for local players to adapt right away to the demands of the shortest format of the game because they lack experience in T20 cricket. The ex-national captain also urged for more T20 tournaments in order to get good output from locals.
“It's difficult for those who are out of the national team as they only play BPL once a year and even then they don't get to play practice matches. If you compare with us -- we play all over the year across formats and we also play in Bangladesh.
“I think if a slot is created for a tournament other than the BPL not only for those who are outside the national team -- but also including us -- it will help. Maybe we are busy with national duties but those who are outside the team, if they can play such tournaments it will be easy for the teams to form a good side too. We did give a proposal previously and maybe [BCB director Ismail Haider] Mollick bhai has also said that there might be a T20 tournament comprising the top six-seven teams of the Dhaka [Premier] League. If that happens it will definitely help us,” Mushfiqur told reporters yesterday.
There has also been talk about the Mirpur pitch after quite a few low-scoring affairs in the ongoing BPL, but Mushfiqur informed that it is important for players to adapt their game according to the wicket.
“I think it's important for players to adapt their games rather than [blame] the pitch as there are always big scores in other T20 tournaments worldwide. But it's different in Mirpur and we know what the condition is and how it [the pitch] behaves. I think we should be able to become habituated to the conditions and if we can play accordingly, then we can see big scores which will also encourage the spectators,” he said.
Talking of spectators, when asked about the empty stands over the first four days of the tournament, Mushfiqur said: “Empty stands are expected as people can now watch matches live through their mobile phones and even watch games at work on the TV. I would like to urge supporters as there are so many big names like [David] Warner, [Steven] Smith, [Kieron] Pollard, [Andre] Russell and what better place to watch these players from than in the stands?”
