DPL T20 to kick off tomorrow
DPL T20 will begin tomorrow.-Cricfrenzy
||CF Correspondent||
The maiden Dhaka Premier League (DPL) T20 kicks off tomorrow (Monday) amid the expectation of helping the local players understand the nature of the shortest format of the cricket in which they proved them vulnerable time and again.
The participation 12 clubs from Dhaka, split into four groups will take part in the tournament and the leader of each group will make it last four. Four games will be played each day in two venues—Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) and Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium (KSOAS) in Fatullah.
On the opening day of the tournament, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club will take on Khelaghar Samaj Kallayan Samity at 12.30 PM while Abahani Limited will face off Brothers Union at 5.30 PM at the SBNCS. Legends of Rupganj will lock horns with Shinepukur Limited at 9 AM while Prime Doleshwar will play against newcomer BKSP at 1.30 PM at KSOAS.
“The tournament will be good for the local cricketers to understand T20 cricket properly,” said Shahriar Nafees. “Hopefully the tournament will bigger from the next year.” Walton, a local conglomerate company of electric and electronic products, became the title sponsor of the tournament.
The newly-inducted Dhaka Premier League (DPL) Twenty20 Cricket League. Organised by Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), Model Group extended their joint hand with Walton as an associate sponsor to promote the league for the local players.
“We’re starting DPL Twenty20 Cricket League again. This time it’ll be held prior to the looming 50-over Dhaka Premier League (DPL). We had wished to organize it last year but we did not do it. This year we’re organizing the tournament. It’ll be a 15-match tournament, where there are group-phase matches along with semi-finals and final,” said Kazi Imam Ahmed, the chairman of CCDM.
Describing the story behind this T20 tournament, CCDM chairman said that a Twenty20 tournament besides Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is important for their local players what they all discussed in the board.
“Actually BPL is an international tournament, where four foreign players performed this year but the number was five in the erstwhile edition. Local players don’t get more chance to play because of them. To make them expertise on T20 cricket and produce more cricketers on this format of the game, we needed to organize a T20 tournament. Actually, in that thinking, we had planned to organize this T20 tournament,” he clarified.
“No foreign player is allowed to play here. We’re happy that we could have organized the tournament. There was a request from all the quarters so long if we all could have seen the games of the most prestigious and traditional league where the top domestic clubs including Abahanai Club Limited, Mohammedan Sporting Club, Brothers Union are involved,” he continued.
“This time all of our expectation is going to realize. We talked with Gazi TV, who responded to us positively. They are our broadcasting partner of the national team. We’re lucky to have them in the tournament. They’ll live telecast three matches including semifinals and final. We feel happy for the fans of the local and overseas, who will enjoy the games on online along with television,” he added.
