PCL T20 Bashundhara Cup begins in Sharjah tomorrow Ctg Mohammedan takes on Top Sports Noakhali in opener

PCL T20 Bashundhara Cup begins in Sharjah tomorrow Ctg Mohammedan takes on Top Sports Noakhali in opener

Source: UNB

The port City League (PCL) Bashundhara Cup T20 begins here tomorrow (Sunday) with huge enthusiasm among the local fans with two matches slated for the opening day.

On the opening day, Chittagong Mohammedan SC will take on Top Sports Noakhali at 3 pm (local time) while Dhaka Sports Club meets Bangladesh Biman at 7 pm, after formal inauguration of the meet at 6:45 pm.

Private Satellite Channel ATN Bangla will telecast all the matches live.

Earlier, the league was scheduled to begin on March 26, but the organizers deferred the meet at the 11th hour due to visa problem of some players and officials involved with the league.

Addressing at a pre-match pres conference at Hotel Ramada on Saturday afternoon, Chittagong Mohammedan skipper Mohammad Ashraful said he hopes to regain his position in the national team showing a good performance in the PCL.

He said: “We’ve less playing experience in T20 matches… So, it is the right place for everyone to prove their ability in the PCL ahead of the T20 World Cup.”

The former national skipper said that in the last PCL they did not win any matches, but now they are very serious about each match.

He said his target in the PCL was to prove himself to make room in the national side ahead of the T20 World Cup in West Indies.

Mushfiqur Rahim, skipper of Pirates of Chittagong, was found quite optimistic about clinching the PCL title.

He said that his team is a balanced side with young and experienced players.

“We’ll try to win match by match,” he said. “We recruited Pakistani batsman with local dashing batsmen Aftab Ahmed and Alok Kapali.”

India’s Bangla Tigers captain Dip Dasgupta, who has previous experience of playing for Bangladesh, said: “I feel very glad to be participating in the PCL.”

He said his team consists of good batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders, and hoped about doing well in the tournament.

About Bangladesh cricket, Dasgupta said Bangladesh has made substantial improvement in cricket in the last two years.

Dhaka Sports Club captain Nazmul Hossain said their foreign collection is very strong and they would fight for the championship.

Chittagong Tigers captain Mahmudullah Riad said they have very good batting depth as well as some good bowlers and all-rounders.

“If we are able to play according to our ability, we must win the PCL crown,” he added.

Defending champions Brothers Union skipper Nafees Iqbal said they have a good collection of foreign players for the league.

“We missed the services of Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi for our team, but confirmed the services of former Pakistani all rounder Azhar Mahmood.”

Replying to a question, he said he is very pleased to be playing in the PCL on foreign soil and his team also played a practice match to have a feel of the ground.

Nafees, who considers his team as favorite in the league, is hopeful to regain the title playing good cricket.

Participating teams:

Group A - Chittagong Mohammedan SC, Chittagong Brothers Union Club, Chittagong Tigers and Top Sports Noakhali

Group B - Dhaka Sports Club, Pirates of Chittagong, Bangla Tigers, India, and Bangladesh Biman.

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