Chittagong phase of BPL started on February 13. Even after four days, a team has not yet entered the field in this phase. Sylhet Strikers will take the field for the first time in the Chittagong phase on February 17, Saturday against Fortune Barisal.
The cricketers of Sylhet Strikers also arrived in Chittagong after all, on February 13. Came here and did the first practice on February 15 in the outer part of Zahoor Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Everyone is looking for only one person in formal practice in Sylhet. He is Nazmul Hossain Shanto. The captain of three formats in the Bangladesh national team was not present on the field during the official practice day.
However, today Friday (February 16) Sylhet Strikers had an unofficial and optional practice schedule. However, at 11 am, almost all the cricketers of the team appeared outside the Zahoor Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Nazmul Hossain Shanto was also there. Those who were looking for the captain of the Bangladesh team earlier, they easily saw his practice this time.
Dalal is the new captain of Bangladesh very serious from the beginning of practice. Nate braced himself in front of the bowling of spinners and pacers for long periods. He changed the net again and again, sometimes against the spinners, sometimes against the pacers. After practicing for a long time, he left the net for his teammates.
But Nazmul Shantar’s appetite for batting practice has not decreased. At the very north corner of the practice ground, a team boy threw a single batting practice for a long time. Team Boy was simultaneously throwing 8-10 balls one at a time towards Shant, and the left-handed batsman continued to practice shots for a long time by changing the batting direction. Finally, when the entire team’s practice session was over, Shanto was seen resting.
2023 and 2024 BPL brought a completely different experience for him. He was the highest run scorer in 2023 BPL. Scored 516 runs at an average of 39.69 in 15 matches for Sylhet Strikers. Four half centuries. The strike rate was 116.74; But this time for the same team, Nazmul Shantar’s bat is completely rusted. Scored a total of 124 runs in 9 matches at an average of 13.77. Strike rate 96.12. There is no half century. Highest run innings 36. He did that against Chittagong in the first match of BPL.
The above statistics tell Shanta’s current off-form status. After the ODI World Cup, Shanto led the Bangladesh national team in the absence of Shakib Al Hasan. Test win against New Zealand at home, he led the team in T20 victory against New Zealand.
It is the quality of leadership that has helped Shanto become a full-fledged captain in all three formats of the Bangladesh team in the post-Shakib era; But in BPL that calm bat is restless. No big runs. Not even a half century. In 9 matches, he reached double digits only 4 times. Single digits next to his name 5 times – 5, 5, 9, 3, 1.
Everyone is worried about Shantar’s performance on the eve of taking over as the full captain of the Bangladesh team. Sri Lanka series at the end of BPL. Then the T20 World Cup in June. All in all, it is very important to return to the new captain’s run? Nazmul Shanto himself is realizing this. Today (Friday) Zahoor Ahmed Chowdhury’s continuous batting practice outside the stadium shows how desperate he is to return to runs.
In the last two matches, he played an innings of 33 runs against Dhaka and 18 runs against Khulna Tigers. Khulna coach Rajin Saleh and team manager Nafis Iqbal are optimistic that Shanter’s bat is starting to do the talking. This time may be completely back to form. And a return to calm form means that the team’s chances of winning the remaining three matches will increase and the possibility of the last four will also be created.
The previous day (Thursday) Sylhet coach Rajin Saleh said about Shanter’s off form while facing the media, ‘We always talk to him or I talk to him myself. I don’t think he is mentally retarded because of not getting runs. A player can go off form. But we are always in his support. ‘
I think, if Nazmul Shanto had scored, then our game might have been different. Maybe the position of our team would have been in another place. Although he has scored some runs in the last two matches, we think he will bounce back from the match on the 17th.’
Rajin Saleh hopes that Shanta will return to form in the next three matches. He said, ‘I saw the last two matches, he (Shant) scored 30-35 runs in one match, 17-18 in another match. It is not that he is not in touch, he is in touch. We think, there are three more matches, he will come back from here inshallah and he will give good service to Bangladesh team as well. ‘
Sylhet Strikers team manager Nafees Iqbal also has to face the media today (Friday) to answer about Shanta’s return to form. When asked about his off-form, Nafees Iqbal said, ‘The last two innings were good for Shantar. We are optimistic about this. The tournament did not start well for him. But in the last two matches, he looked quite good. A lot of hard work has been going on for the past few days. ‘
Nafees Iqbal is optimistic, if Shanta does well in the last three matches, then it can be very important for his team. He said, ‘The last three matches are very important for us. If he can deliver well in these three matches, then we might be in a good position. ‘
‘You have seen that we have won three of the last four matches. So, the momentum is with us. At the same time we also got a big break. Tomorrow’s game (against Fortune Barisal) is very important for us. If we can win this match, then our confidence will increase a lot. And Nazmul Shant is our iconic player. It is very important for us that he clicks in this match.’
There was a question for Nafees Iqbal, Shanto was seen working hard today. Batting practice for a long time. When he’s not getting runs, does it create pressure in him that it’s time – I should get back to running now?
Nafees Iqbal said, ‘Just calm down, this is true for all cricketers. The consistent players you see, who are playing top class cricket in Bangladesh, know their responsibilities. He (calm) but follows his routine all the time. The best part is that he always remains calm in all situations. I think he manages to strike a balance between good days and bad days. The work (practice) you see from him today is on and off – he always works like that. He knows his routine and I believe he will return to form very soon and play a good innings. Because we all know that he has that quality. ‘
IHS/MS
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