Same old concerns in a new mould

Dhaka Premier League (DPL), the most important tournament in the country’s domestic calendar, begins today across venues in Dhaka with very little change from previous years as questions could be raised about its competitiveness owing to political influences.

The tournament’s competitiveness especially comes into the limelight because political ties in the past garnered unseen advantages. Abahani dominated the recent era with many national team players thrust into the side.

What changed this year is that Mohammedan — Abahani’s archrivals — and Legends of Rupganj have created strong teams, while the rest of the teams have found national team stars to be limited in stock.

Legends of Rupganj have recruited quite a few top-order batters from the national team, such as Soumya Sarkar and Tanzid Tamim. They also have Mahmudul Hasan Joy in the lineup, and team management sources yesterday told The Daily Star that he is being lined up to bat at number four, with Afif Hossain also in the squad.

Joy’s case exemplifies how outside influences could impact the quality of a tournament and also a cricketer’s career. Joy has always batted at the top, and when a player is pushed into a middle-order role, it raises questions about the surplus of quality in a team. At the same time, the player himself has to adjust to this new role, making it more difficult for him to perform in the position where he aims to establish himself — as an opener.

This, in turn, reduces the effectiveness that the DPL should have in nurturing players who can serve the national team and the country’s cricket.

Gulshan Cricket Club were promoted to the Premier Division last season, and former national team star Tamim Iqbal claimed to have arranged for investors for the club this season.

Tamim, who will be leading Mohammedan, will play the opening round’s fixture against Gulshan Cricket Club at BKSP-3 today. “I am with them [Gulshan Cricket Club]. But the team is not mine, I just helped them get sponsors. So, I don’t see any conflict of interest,” Tamim told reporters in Mirpur yesterday.

Tamim’s statement of being ‘with them’ sounds like a page out of the script from previous DPL editions, which were often marred due to conflicts of interest — particularly concerning club officials.

Tamim also highlighted the heat factor during the March-May window and the difficulties faced by players traveling to different grounds, such as those at BKSP in Savar. The heat factor could impact performance levels, especially as many cricketers would also be fasting during Ramadan.

Mohammedan official Tariqul Islam Titu mentioned that following a request made in a Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) meeting, the tournament would be moved to November next year.

Other than the timing, Titu found some positives in this DPL.

“Previously, for one team, the championship was almost guaranteed, while the rest were playing to be runners-up. Whether you talk about backdoor deals or umpiring, whenever we protested these issues, legal actions were taken against us,” he added.

When asked whether Abahani’s influence in past editions would now shift to Mohammedan due to the abundance of national team stars, he said: “Previously, other teams could not recruit national players, and Abahani would build their team with the maximum number of national team players or those on the fringes. Now, isn’t it better that they won’t have to play for just one team under any pressure? There was a fear that if you weren’t in Abahani, you wouldn’t get selected for the national team, but now it is open.”