“Everything is on a break,” Bangladesh’s Test and T20I skipper Shakib Al Hasan said when asked about his reaction to umpiring in the BPL at an event organised by Yamaha, only a day after he had made headlines for getting into the field of play before his side Fortune Barishal’s innings.
The all-rounder has already made headlines for his criticism of the BPL since the ninth edition of the tournament began, stating he could do a better job than the current organisers if he were CEO. At another commercial event a little later, he said it would be better to be board president than CEO.
Shakib accepted the fine for a level 1 breach of the BCB’s code of conduct for entering the field, but it remains to be seen whether the all-rounder has had enough of going after the BPL’s organisation.
Despite the shortcomings of the BPL this time around, Shakib found some positives from a cricketer’s perspective, not getting into the logistical challenges left unmet. Yet, he reminded of difficulty playing T20s in Mirpur.
“The pitch is very good this year. Getting such pitches in Mirpur is unexpected. You have to credit the curator for that. That’s why runs are being scored and games are going well. It’s exciting,” Shakib said.
While the night games have produced runs, it still remains a bit difficult during the afternoon games for batters. A few local batters, a majority from the Sylhet Strikers, have started the BPL on the right foot.
“[Nazmul Hossain] Shanto, Towhid Hridoy and Zakir [Hasan] have done well. The best thing is that local batters are doing well and the pitch deserves credit,” he said.
However, Shakib also pointed out that local bowlers are yet to really make a case for themselves. “Bowlers are not doing well. We have to learn how to bowl on these pitches now,” he said.
While any fiery remarks have been put on hold, when the action takes to the field at Chattogram, it remains to be seen whether Shakib will go from ‘break’ to action again.
