Sorry Sylhet keep on losing
The Sylhet leg of the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL) had begun in despair for Sylhet Thunder as they had already been eliminated from the playoffs race after losing seven of eight matches. It did not get any better for Herschelle Gibbs’s men in their home town as they succumbed to three more defeats.
The Sylhet side has been riddled with controversy from the beginning and also one built to fail. Crises have come one after another and they have been under the microscope from the start. Reports surfaced at the beginning of the tournament that there were arguments between Sylhet’s sponsors and team director Tanjil Chowdhury about irrelevant player selection during the players’ draft.
Their first match brought further controversy when Krishmar Santokie bowled a no-ball so big that it immediately raised suspicions of spot-fixing. Mohammad Mithun, one of the locals, complained that a lack of opportunities did not help the local players to perform as West Indian recruits Andre Fletcher and Johnson Charles were favoured to bat in the top order.
Fletcher’s form withered after he hit an unbeaten ton at Chattogram -- Sylhet’s only win so far -- while Rutherford failed to inspire. Sylhet coach Gibbs then revealed his frustration regarding communication issues with the players, saying that a lot of the local players ‘didn’t understand English’.
They still managed to play closest match of the tournament against Cumilla Warriors on Thursday, when the result was decided by a Super Over. The problems for this Sylhet outfit have remained the same from the start. The lack of cohesion, squad balance and intensity on the field was there for all to see. When the BBPL began with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) deciding to have no franchises and instead arrange the tournament on their own accord, it should have been a case of all teams being weighted equally based on strength but problems in Sylhet’s management has shown the fallacy of that idea.
Meanwhile, Chattogram Challengers were at the other end of the spectrum having already sealed their playoffs berth on the last day of the Sylhet leg and will be boosted by the arrival of T20 kingpin Chris Gayle, set to arrive on Monday. Rajshahi had also confirmed their playoffs berth with a six-wicket win over Sylhet last night while Cumilla Warriors, Dhaka Platoon, Khulna Tigers and Rangpur Rangers will all vie for a playoff spot in the business of the tournament in Dhaka.
