Dhaka Dynamites keen on retaining local players

Dhaka Dynamites emerged victories in the last season of the Bangladesh Premier League when they defeated Rajshahi Kings in the finals played at Shere Bangla National Stadium in December last year. With the fifth season around the corner, the defending champions are trying to get the right combinations and are keen to retain a few Bangladesh stars.

Focus on retaining local players

Mohammad Shahid, Shakib Al Hasan and Mosaddek Hossain were the star performers last year for the Dynamites and are set to be retained for this season too. Though Shahid played just 8 games, he picked 15 wickets. Shakib, who also plies his trade for KKR in the IPL, took 13 wickets off 14 games at an economy rate of below 7. His batting didn’t click much as he averaged 20.54 in 13 innings with no half-centuries. Mosaddek Hossain scored 304 runs in 13 innings at 33.77 and a strike rate of 124.09. All three were crucial to their title win and the Dynamites chief expressed his desire to hire their services again ahead of the season.

“We want to keep Shakib, Mosaddek and Shahid in the team. But can’t say about other players at this moment,” said Obayed Nizam

Big international names in the squad

Dynamites have also roped in some fine international stars in Kumar Sangakkara, Dwanye Bravo, Mohammad Amir, Sunil Narine and Pakistan’s entertaining all-rounder Shahid Afridi.

When you have so much talent in your squad, the selection process becomes a big headache. The Nizam said that he had nothing to do with the team composition as the captain and coach will look after that.

“It’s tough to guess that who would play and who would be benched. It will depend on coach and captain,” Nizam concluded.

Dynamites topped the table last year finishing with 16 points in 12 games. They faced Khulna Tigers in the 1st Qualifier and beat them by 54 runs to reach the finals. Shakib Al Hasan led the side astutely and is expected to do a repeat in the upcoming season.