The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) was the only platform for Bangladesh National Cricket team to prepare for the ICC Champions Trophy, which is a 50-over format tournament to be held in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this month.
In a tournament that saw a massive run-fest, most of the batters, who are in the Bangladesh's Champions Trophy squad, fared well. But Taznid Hasan Tamim was way ahead of the pack.
The opener was the most successful amongst the top-order batters. He finished as the second-highest run-scorer with 485 runs in 12 matches at an average of 44.09 and a strike rate of 141.39. He hit one century and four half-centuries and smashed 36 sixes-the most by a Bangladeshi in a single BPL season-surpassing Towhid Hridoy's 2023 tally of 24 sixes.
Soumya Sarkar who is highly likely to open with Tanzid in Champions Trophy scored 105 runs with a best of 74, but he played just four matches due to injury.
Parvez Hossain Emon, who was chosen ahead of Liton Das and is considered as back opener for the Champions Trophy, delivered crucial innings when it mattered most. He scored 75 and 36 in key matches against Barishal and carried that form into the final, where he hit a half-century off 30 balls and remained unbeaten at 78 off 49 balls. He finally accumulated 338 runs in
the tournament.
There was concern with some players and skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto will be in the frontline in this case.
Shanto was roped in by eventual champions Fortune Barishal but he wasn't a regular face in the squad. Barishal captain Tamim Iqbal said Shanto couldn't fit in the squad due to the combination, not for his performance.
Even though Tamim didn't blame his performance, Shanto couldn't live up to the expectation in those matches in which he got the opportunity to play. He played only five matches and scored 56 runs, a tally that didn't go augurs well for him. Amongst the 56 runs, 41 came in one match, meaning he scored just 16 runs in the four matches.
Although the Champions Trophy format will be different than the BPL, Shanto's form is a concern. But he was seen to train regularly with national team set up even during the BPL.
Among the other top-order batters, Towhid Hridoy scored 280 runs in 12 innings at an average of 25.45 and a strike rate of 132.07. He failed to find the consistency throughout the tournament but played a match-winning 56 ball-82 against Chittagong Kings in Qualifier-1. Still the stat itself was the testament of how underwhelming BPL he experienced this time.
Mahmudullah Riyad, who will be key in Bangladesh's middle order along with Mushfiqur Rahim scored 206 runs in seven innings at an average of 34.33 and a strike rate of 143.05. He registered two half-centuries along the way.
Mushfiqur Rahim had rather a subdued tournament, managing 184 runs in eight innings at an average of 26.28 and a strike rate of 127.77.
Jaker Ali Anik had a decent campaign for Sylhet Strikers, scoring 241 runs in 12 innings at an average of 24.10 and a strike rate of 127.51. While he did not register any half-centuries, his contributions in the lower middle order were useful, with a highest score of 47*.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz shone impeccably in the tournament. He was eighth on the run-scorers list with 355 runs at an average of 27.30 and a strike rate of 132.95. Additionally, he ranked 10th among wicket-takers, claiming 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.25. His performance was key in taking Khulna Tigers to the playoffs. �BSS
