Comilla Victorians captain Tamim Iqbal informed that the outfield was also poor compared to the previous times
Rangpur Riders captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza and Comilla Victorians skipper Tamim Iqbal both expressed concern and frustration during the post-match press conference regarding the low-scoring and unpredictable nature of the wicket at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.
The Chittagong phase of the BPL 2017 just ended Wednesday as the spectators witnessed plenty of runs, as well as fair competition between bat and ball, among the teams at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Cricket Stadium. Teams scored 200-plus runs on quite a few occasions there while the bowlers bagged wickets with accurate bowling. It was only possible thanks to the sporting nature of the wickets in the port city.
Even in the Sylhet phase of the money-spinning tournament, the wickets at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium produced enough runs and purchase for the bowlers. But the wicket at the home of cricket in Mirpur seems unpredictable, and at times unplayable, if Saturday’s match between Rangpur and Comilla is anything to go by.
In the first game of the fourth and final phase in Dhaka, Rangpur were bowled out for just 97 runs. It was not terrible batting however, from Rangpur as the wicket was difficult to bat on. Comilla faced similar difficulties while chasing as they only reached their target in 19.3 overs, that too losing six wickets.
After the match, both the captains expressed disappointment and said more competitive wickets should be prepared, particularly in a tournament like the BPL.
“It’s difficult to play T20 cricket in this type of wicket. Particularly after coming from Chittagong, where the wickets were sporting and superb, we did not expect such kind of wicket in Mirpur in [Saturday’s] game,” said Mashrafe.
“I will not comment about the ability of the curator as he had prepared good wickets in Mirpur so many times in the past. But I don’t know why this kind of wicket is being prepared. During this stage of the tournament, every team want to play on a good wicket. We need to find out the problem and sort it out soon,” he added.
Tamim echoed a similar sentiment to that of Mashrafe even though they went on to win by four wickets.
“We always hear that since so many matches are played on these wickets, the pitch behaves the way it is doing now. But now? No games have been played in this ground for the last 10 days. But still we get such unacceptable wicket for a T20 game,” said Tamim.
“I feel sorry for the spectators. The batting side scored only 97 and the chasing team had to bat until the last over of the match to reach their target. It’s very much frustrating for the spectators, and even for the teams as well.
“Our cricket board and we, the players, all want to carry BPL to the next level, in terms of standard. But to reach the next step, we must play on good sporting wickets. It is frustrating to play on such kind of rubbish wicket. I am saying this, despite winning the game,” he explained.
“It is not like the curator does not know how to produce good wickets in Mirpur. We have seen many times that good wickets have been produced here. But I don’t know what actually happens when BPL comes around. The outfield also becomes less green and slow compared to the previous times. We have to find out the problem. We need to improve our wicket and need to do it soon,” he concluded.
Source: Dhaka Tribune.
