There were no ball-bashing or towering hits, but still there was no shortage of excitement in the low-scoring match between Duronto Rajshahi and Chittagong Kings yesterday. But the almost empty stands at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur was in stark contrast with the proceedings on the field.
Nobody wants to play in front of merely one thousand spectators and the winning captain Tamim Iqbal (Duronto Rajshahi) was no exception, which is why he appealed to the fans to come to the
stadium and make the second edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) memorable.
The dashing batsman was not aware of the high prices of tickets — which many believe is the main reason behind
the poor turnout — but requested the organisers to look into the matter.
“If my request has any impact, then I must ask the fans to come to the stadium. I am not aware about the price but I think the board should think if the ticket price is high. In the end there is no benefit if the fans don’t come to the stadium. We must bring the fans to the stadium because it’s always fantastic to play in front of a big crowd,” said Tamim after the match.
Tamim looked in high spirits after an expressive celebration but the left-hander denied that he had any special motive because of the fact that the opponents were his former team Chittagong Kings, with whom he has bitter memories from last season.
The national opener, who recently returned after a successful trip in New Zealand, however thanked his young brigade for taking the opportunity after they had suffered through the last minute withdrawal of the Pakistani players.
“I asked the young players in the team meeting to take the opportunity and I’m happy that they played their part. It was a chance for them and they took up the challenge. You know, some of them didn’t even know that they were going to play in the BPL,” he added.
-With The Daily Star input
