Former national skipper Sakib al Hasan and opener Tamim Iqbal returned to leadership roles as the Bangladesh Cricket Board on Thursday announced four teams for the upcoming Victory Day Twenty20 competition. Sakib and Tamim were removed from their respective positions as national captain and vice-captain after the Tigers’ disastrous tour of Zimbabwe in 2011, during which they lost the only Test and went down in the ODI series as well.
Mushfiqur Rahim and Mashrafee bin Murtaza were named the captains of the other two teams for the tournament, which will be held from December 22 to 31 in Sylhet and Dhaka.
The BCB had earlier announced that Mushfiq would retain the national captaincy till 2015, but they had yet to choose a vice-captain. That vacancy prompted the national selectors to give Sakib and Tamim, who are in the running for the job, leadership roles in the T20 competition.
When asked what prompted the BCB to name the duo, who were heavily criticised for how they handled the team in Zimbabwe, national selector Minhajul Abedin said: ‘The Zimbabwe series is a matter of past now and they both have matured.’
‘At that point there was discpline case against them, but now they don’t have the burden on their shoulders.’
‘We have yet to announce the national vice-captain, so we need to see their progress like other contenders.’
The BCB had earlier named Nasir Hossain as the captain of the Bangladesh A-team in the just-concluded T20 Challenge Series to assess his ability. Nasir was highly successful, leading his A team to a 3-0 clean sweep against the Mushfiq-led Bangladesh team.
Nasir had asked for leave to attend a family programme so he was not picked for the tournament, Minhajul said.
Though the BCB announced the teams, it has yet to confirm the names of the four participating clubs.
BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said they approached all Dhaka Premier League Clubs but only Mohammedan, Abahani and Prime Bank have agreed so far.
Recently-crowned Dhaka Premier League champions Gazi Tank Cricketers, however, refuted the claim and said they were not given any offer.
Gazi Tank’s owner Lutfur Rahman said the BCB asked him only if he could sponsor a team under the banner of a private bank or a ceramics company in which he has major stake.
‘The BCB asked me to join the competition with IFIC Bank or Sanghai Ceramics. They demanded Tk 43 lakh as sponsorship money, so I had to turn down the offer. There was no talk about Gazi Tanks participating in the competition,’ Lutfur told New Age from Singapore.
‘It was disappointing, as we deserve a call as the league champions,’ he said.
BCB development committee chief Khaled Mahmud said Gazi can play if they really want to, as one slot is still available.
‘They are welcome if they want to join the Victory Day competition,’ Mahmud said, adding that if the BCB failed to find a fourth club they would form their own, as they did during the Bangladesh Cricket League first-class competition last year.
SQUADS
Yellow
Masrafee bin Murtaza ( captain), Junaed Siddique, Jahirul Islam, Mizanur Rahman, Mominul Hoque, Shahriar Nafees, Roqibul Hassan, Taibur Rahman, Elias Sunny, Saqlain Sajib, Dewan Sabbir, Sajedul Islam, Alauddin Babu, Nurul Hasan
Blue
Sakib al Hasan (captain) Anamul Haque , Saikat Ali, Liton Kumar Das, Sabbir Rahman , Mehrab Hossain Jr, Alok Kapali, Sohag Gazi, Taizul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Tapash Bayshia, Rabiul Islam, Mohammad Sharif
Green
Tamim Iqbal – (captain), Imrul Kayes , Abdul Majid, Naeem Islam, Marshal Ayub, Rony Talakder, ubaer Ahmed, Arafat Sunny, Enamul Haque, Al-Amin Hossain, Md Shahid, Delwar Hossain, Muktar Ali, Md Mithun
Red
Mushfiqur Rahim – (captain), Shamsur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Nafis Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Aftab Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Nazmul Hossain Milon, Farhad Reza, Shuvashis Roy, Nabil Shamad, Ziaur Rahman, Sohrawardi Shuvo, Mehedi Maruf
-With New Age input
