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BSP-13
CRICKET-NATIONAL-PLAYERS-FORM
Minhajul concerned over national players performance in DPL
DHAKA, April 10, 2019 (BSS)- Bangladesh chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu expressed his grave concern over the national players form, warning an issue that the lackluster performance in Dhaka Premier League (DPL) is not very inspiring for Tigers in the ICC Cricket World Cup.
Batsmen like Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman and Liton Das, who were considered as the next big three, after the four batting stalwarts-Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad, couldn’t fire and play big innings even against a weak bowling line up in the ongoing DPL.
Soumya Sarkar scored 176 runs in seven matches at an average of 25.14, with the highest of 43 while Sabbir Rahman made just 189 runs in 10 matches at an average of 18.9 with just one half-century to his name. Liton Das comparatively did better than the duo, scoring 147 in three matches, at an average of 49. He had just one half-century but the problem is he couldn’t carry on the start, which was expected from him.
While the batsmen upon whom the team management were relying couldn’t do anything noteworthy, most of the bowlers remained injured and were on rehab. How much they will gain match fitness ahead of the World Cup, it is another matter of concern.
As the date of the announcement of the World Cup squad is approaching fast, all those things created a massive headache to chief selector and he had no reservation to make it clear.
“We are going to play World Cup, a big test for the players. This is a biggest cricket’s extravaganza, so there will be some tension with the squad,” Minhajul Abedin Nannu, also the former Bangladesh skipper said here today.
“Not the players only, the team management, selectors also got tensed thinking how the players will fare in this showcase event. So when they are not in form, the selectors naturally get tensed.”
While captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza earlier revealed that the DPL form won’t be a matter of concern, the chief selector differed with it straightway, stating that the lack of form may ruin the confidence of a player.
“Wherever the players play, form is an important matter. They are going to play World Cup, so they need to gain confidence as much as they can. When they will get runs, wickets, it will be a confidence-booster. In this sense, scoring runs and getting wickets in DPL is important factor,” he said.
Even though the chief selector remained concerned over the form of the players, he was not keen to give up hopes on them.
“I believe those, who we are thinking about for the World Cup, will come back strongly making runs and getting wicket. One good match is enough to regain the consistency. There is still some time left for the World Cup. So we are not keen to give up hopes on them,” he added.
“There are some matches of the Super League and Ireland series still. Hopefully they will get better,” Minhajul concluded.
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