BPL 2019-20: 5 Bangladesh players who can eye a national comeback

Bangladesh have found the going tough in T20Is and have lacked consistency. It’s one of the reasons why the Tigers need to play the qualifiers of the T20 World Cup in Australia. The national team is not a settled lot and it’s a chance for a number of players, waiting in the wings, to get into the scheme of things.

The fringe players will be looking for the 2019-20 Bangladesh Premier League as a platform. The T20 league gets underway on December 11 with the match between Chattogram Challengers and Sylhet Thunder at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

The opening ceremony will take place at the very venue on December 8. The Tigers are scheduled to play many of T20s in the lead up to the World Cup, and the BPL present a golden chance for the players to help their cause.

In the article, let’s take a look at 5 players who can come back into the Bangladesh team through the BPL 2019-20:-

Sabbir Rahman

Sabbir Rahman has truckload of potential on his shoulders, but he is yet to justify the same, donning the national colours. Five years and 121 matches since his debut in February 2014, the Rajshahi-born has averaged in the mid-20s across formats.

With 18 fifties and a century earlier this year against New Zealand, Sabbir has shown his capabilities, but those knocks have been few and far between. The 28-year-old last played in the T20I tr-series at home in September and after scores of 15, 24 and one, he was dropped.

Sabbir wasn’t picked even for the T20Is in India. In the BPL, he will be turning out for the Cumilla Warriors and the tournament can be a pathway for him to stake his claim back into the Bangladesh side. Last year he played for Sylhet and scored 276 runs at 25.09 with a fifty.

Rubel Hossain

It’s been over a decade since Rubel Hossain forayed in international cricket. There was a time when the Khulna-born used the spearhead the Bangladesh attack with his pace. But in the last couple of years or so, he seemed to have lost bite and has leaked runs at alarming rates at times.

Albeit he has been in the radar for ODI selections, he is out of contention for a berth in the T20I and Test team. Rubel was a part of a few squads of late, including the World Cup, but hasn’t featured regularly in the eleven. Like Sabbir, even he wasn’t considered for the India T20Is last month.

In the BPL, the 29-year-old is all set to ply his craft for the Chattogram Challengers. The speedster played for Dhaka, led by Shakib Al Hasan last time and picked up 22 wickets in 15 encounters with a couple of four-fers.

Taskin Ahmed

Playing for the Sylhet Sixers, now Thunder, Taskin Ahmed picked up 22 wickets in 12 matches with a couple of four-wicket hauls. Among the regular bowlers, Ahmed had the best bowling average of 14.45. Soon after, he was picked for the tour of New Zealand, but he was ruled out due to an injury.

To add insult to injury, after a lot of speculations, Taskin wasn’t considered in the World Cup squad. The Dhaka-born has been picked in various squads ever since, but mysteriously, he couldn’t break into the playing eleven.

Having last represented Bangladesh in March 2018, the situation demands a test of character for Taskin in order for him to make a comeback. The fast bowler will be honing his skills for the Rangpur Rangers, who have lately named veteran Mohammad Nabi as their skipper.

Najmul Hossain Shanto

Najmul Hossain Shanto made his T20I debut in the home tri-series in September. However, after scores of 5 and 11, he couldn’t hold on to his place in the Tigers setup. In November, Shanto was at his very best with scores of 22*, 94, 59*, 59 and 46 for Bangladesh Emerging XI.

The southpaw averages 40.75 and 38.23 in first-class and List A cricket, and hence there’s no doubt over his talent. The 21-year-old needs to work on his T20 numbers though, averaging a mere 17.11 in 42 matches. Last season in the BPL, he played for the Khulna Titans, now Tigers, and scored 138 runs in 10 games.

His best knock of a 35-ball 48 came versus Rangpur Riders. This season, he is with the Khulna franchise. as well It’s a great for Shanto to transform his List A and first-class form and make himself a force in T20s.

Ariful Haque

Shakib’s suspension has meant that Bangladesh don’t have a specialist all-rounder in their ranks. Ariful Haque is one of the out-and-out all-rounders the country has at the present point in time. Last year in November, he made his debut in T20Is and has played nine matches in which he scored 59 runs with a strike-rate below 100.

Due to the poor start to his career, he lost his place in the team. He has been in excellent touch, both with bat and ball, representing the Rangpur Division in the NCL. In the BPL, the 27-year-old will ply his trade for Dhaka Platoon under the leadership of Mashrafe Mortaza.

Last year, he played for the Khulna team, but failed to make a significant impact. Apart from the nine T20Is, Ariful has also played for Bangladesh in a couple of Tests and a solitary ODI.