The best and worst of the BPL
A look back at the moments that made the 2016-17 Bangladesh Premier League memorable
Mohammad Isam
10-Dec-2016
Seventeen-year old Afif Hossain took five wickets on his T20 debut • BCB
The shot
Mohammad Shahzad had an eventful BPL, with his batting and wicketkeeping making heads turn. His sixes, especially through the leg side were fun to watch. One such shot came against Comilla Victorians' Mohammad Saifuddin, whom he flicked over the midwicket boundary.
Mohammad Shahzad had an eventful BPL, with his batting and wicketkeeping making heads turn. His sixes, especially through the leg side were fun to watch. One such shot came against Comilla Victorians' Mohammad Saifuddin, whom he flicked over the midwicket boundary.
The shot was slightly awkward, but having timed the ball so well, he held the gauche pose. The shot exemplified the difficulty of batting in night games throughout the tournament, with batsmen having to manufacture shots on most occasions.
The delivery
T20s usually have plenty of yorkers and slower balls, and while the likes of Junaid Khan, Imran Khan and Taskin Ahmed bowled plenty of those, it was the legspinner Rashid Khan who befuddled most batsmen with his change of pace, drift and turn off the pitch. One delivery that stood out was when he trapped Shahriar Nafees leg-before. After three innocuous deliveries, Rashid rushed Nafees back; the batsman expected the ball to turn but it did not and he was plumb in front. It was a great delivery from a young legspinner who had a bag full of tricks.
T20s usually have plenty of yorkers and slower balls, and while the likes of Junaid Khan, Imran Khan and Taskin Ahmed bowled plenty of those, it was the legspinner Rashid Khan who befuddled most batsmen with his change of pace, drift and turn off the pitch. One delivery that stood out was when he trapped Shahriar Nafees leg-before. After three innocuous deliveries, Rashid rushed Nafees back; the batsman expected the ball to turn but it did not and he was plumb in front. It was a great delivery from a young legspinner who had a bag full of tricks.
The catch
There were great catches by Nasir Hossain, Tamim Iqbal, Thisara Perera, Ziaur Rahman and Mehedi Maruf but the one that ultimately stood out was Farhad Reza's in the final, when he caught Andre Russell near the rope ton the second attempt. Shoaib Malik and Jahurul Islam had pulled off a similar effort in tandem, but Farhad's solo attempt was far more spectacular.
There were great catches by Nasir Hossain, Tamim Iqbal, Thisara Perera, Ziaur Rahman and Mehedi Maruf but the one that ultimately stood out was Farhad Reza's in the final, when he caught Andre Russell near the rope ton the second attempt. Shoaib Malik and Jahurul Islam had pulled off a similar effort in tandem, but Farhad's solo attempt was far more spectacular.
The dropped catch
There were plenty of dropped catches. Young Mehedi Hasan, playing for Barisal Bulls, dropped a dolly on the square-leg boundary against Comilla Victorians. Having got under the ball, he used the reverse cup but the ball burst through his hands, hit him on the face and fell on to the outfield.
There were plenty of dropped catches. Young Mehedi Hasan, playing for Barisal Bulls, dropped a dolly on the square-leg boundary against Comilla Victorians. Having got under the ball, he used the reverse cup but the ball burst through his hands, hit him on the face and fell on to the outfield.
The decision
The umpiring wasn't the best either. There were plenty of poor lbw and caught-behind decisions in the tournament. The worst, perhaps, was saved for Umar Akmal, who was given lbw against Barisal Bulls though the bowler, Al-Amin Hossain, did not appeal. Only the wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim did, and that too unconvincingly. Replays showed the ball had hit the batsman too high.
The umpiring wasn't the best either. There were plenty of poor lbw and caught-behind decisions in the tournament. The worst, perhaps, was saved for Umar Akmal, who was given lbw against Barisal Bulls though the bowler, Al-Amin Hossain, did not appeal. Only the wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim did, and that too unconvincingly. Replays showed the ball had hit the batsman too high.
The reaction
Poor umpiring resulted in bad behaviour from players. Shakib Al Hasan was fined after he got angry because of a decision from umpire Khalid Mahmood and there were plenty of occasions when captains had reason to be displeased.
Poor umpiring resulted in bad behaviour from players. Shakib Al Hasan was fined after he got angry because of a decision from umpire Khalid Mahmood and there were plenty of occasions when captains had reason to be displeased.
Tamim Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza, captaining Chittagong Vikings and Comilla Victorians respectively, were quite rough on their own players. After their last-over meltdown against Khulna Titans, Tamim wasn't gentle on his batsmen while Mashrafe gave every erroneous fielder a piece of his mind.
The celebrations
There was a lot of fun in the BPL too. Celebrations were varied, with some bowlers traversing half the ground a la Imran Tahir, while others tried Shahid Afridi's 'star-man' time and again.
There was a lot of fun in the BPL too. Celebrations were varied, with some bowlers traversing half the ground a la Imran Tahir, while others tried Shahid Afridi's 'star-man' time and again.
Rajshahi celebrated in a unique way during their first qualifier against Chittagong Vikings, by taking mock selfies and group photos every time they took a wicket. Not everyone liked it though - Dhaka Dynamites took their own pretend selfies against Rajshahi after Samit Patel's dismissal in the final.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84