Hider, Akbar and other standout players from NCL T20s

The pitches in the two Sylhet venues was conducive to fast bowling, specifically bowlers willing to hit the deck. Abu Hider usually bowled in the middle overs, using his ever-growing variety of deliveries to take 13 wickets in ten matches at 16.30. He also showed his wares as a big-hitter as Dhaka Metropolis regularly sent him up the order after a good start. Hider struck nine sixes in the tournament scoring 123 runs at a strike rate of 164 and won the player-of-the-tournament award.

Although the tournament ended with a low-scoring final, there was plenty of big-hitting throughout the competition in Sylhet. Jishan Alam kicked things off with a 53-ball century on the opening day against Dhaka, his innings studded with ten sixes. He ended up on the losing side because Ariful Islam's 46-ball 94.

Jishan struck two more fifties, while Habibur Rahman Sohan, Azizul Hakim and Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby were regularly among the runs as they consistently cleared the boundary. This could be Bangladesh's first era of proper big-hitting at the domestic level, which bodes well for their senior team.

Veteran Alauddin Babu topped the NCL wicket-takers chart with 19 wickets in nine matches at 9.84. He was in fine form using all the guile from his long domestic career, particularly the mix of quick bouncers and slower cutters in the middle overs, helping Rangpur to the trophy. Youngster Ahmed Sharif was the second-highest wicket-taker, with 17 wickets at 11.88 and was particularly good with the new ball. This was Sharif's first competitive T20 tournament, having just played seven first-class matches before this.

Mukidul Islam was a star performer in the big moments for Rangpur, particularly the final when he ran through the Dhaka line-up. Ebadot Hossain took ten wickets as he works towards a Bangladesh comeback after a long injury lay-off. Hider and Fahad Hossain made waves as left-arm quicks, while Shohidul Islam and Khaled Ahmed showed they were improving in white-ball cricket.

Akbar Ali led Rangpur to their second domestic title as captain. He was their captain when Rangpur won their maiden NCL first-class trophy in 2021-22, and now have added the T20 trophy to their cabinet too.

Akbar was the side's leading run-getter in the tournament. He took some splendid catches too, while his wicketkeeping stood out. He also got the best out of the newcomers like Rizwan and Arif Ahmed, who stepped up on big occasions.