Suddenly playing foreign players is not 'Ideal,' says Mohammad Ashraful
James Vince, Tim David and Andre Russell [L-R} at the airport on Monday morning
Flying into Dhaka late Sunday night from Dubai and playing the next morning hardly set the stage for optimal performance. The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Governing Council has allowed such flexibility in recent seasons, leading franchises to rope in high-profile foreign players for crucial matches.
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Yet, the overlapping schedules of other T20 leagues like the ILT20 in Dubai and SA20 in South Africa have made it difficult for BPL teams to secure long-term contracts with international stars.
Former Bangladesh captain and current Rangpur Riders assistant coach Mohammad Ashraful expressed concerns over this practice, labeling it as far from ideal.
“In England, foreign players must play at least three league matches before being eligible for knockout stages. We lack such regulations in the BPL. Even if a player arrives on the morning of the match, they can play. This isn’t ideal,” Ashraful said it after the game.
The Rangpur Riders' foreign contingent struggled to adapt quickly, underlining Ashraful’s point. Despite this, he acknowledged the management's intent.
“Rangpur’s management tried to bring in big names and quality players. I don’t think it’s about adjusting to conditions—they traveled in business class, and the weather here isn’t much different from Dubai. Maybe playing late at night and flying in the next day had an effect, but they are professional cricketers, so I don’t think that was the main issue.”
Reflecting on previous seasons, Ashraful pointed out, “Last year, we faced similar issues with constant foreign player rotations. This season, our draft strategy was to pick players who could play the majority of matches. Khushdil Shah, Akif Javed, and Iftikhar Ahmed played all their games until Khushdil left for national duties. Steven Taylor was with us from the start, though he couldn’t replicate his Global T20 League performance here. That’s why management brought in big names, but ideally, players should spend at least 2-3 days with the team to build chemistry.”
