Mashrafee faces moment of truth

Mashrafee bin Murtaza won the title of Bangladesh Premier League in the first three editions with Dhaka Gladiators and Comilla Victorians respectively before being embarrassed by a series of poor results of his franchise Victorians in the last season.
He will get the chance to make an amendment when the talismanic pace bowler will star-studded Rangpur Riders in the fifth edition with runners-up Rajshahi Kings lining up as their opponents in the opening day today.
Rangpur included several big names including Brendon McCullum of New Zealand and Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka with the latter already joining the side in Sylhet to show his tricks that made him the most coveted bowler in this format. 
McCullum will join the team on November 15 and might open the innings with another destructive opener Chris Gayle who was picked by the franchise though he was yet to confirm his arrival date.
Despite not getting the service of McCullum and Gayle at the start of tournament, Rangpur still can rely on their other foreign recruits, who include Ravi Bopara, David Willey, Samuel Badree, Johnson Charles, Thisara Perera, Kausal Perera and Adam Lyth. 
With experienced Abdur Razzak, Shahriar Nafees and Rubel Hossain joining Mashrafee as their local collection they appeared as serious contenders for the season.
‘Our main strength is that we all are very much organized,’ Mashrafee said on Friday in Sylhet. 
‘We are trying to play as a team. Players came from different places and so I think that the combination would be very important here and we were working really hard on that,’ he said.
Rangpur can expect a strong challenge in their very first game from a side that kept their eyes firmly on the title. 
Two-times ICC World Twenty20 winning captain Darren Sammy will lead Rajshahi for the second season in a row with the likes of Luke Wright, Lendl Simmons, Samit Patel, Mohammad Sami and James Franklin at his 
disposal. 
They also included a bunch of talented local players like Mehedi Hasan, Mominul Haque along with national Test team skipper Mushfiqur Rahim although they would miss the service of injured Mustfizur Rahman in the first few matches. 
‘We just looked like a well-balanced team. We have a star in Mustafiz, who is out injured. We are quite happy with the talent display and we hope that we can go one step further in this year’s tournament,’ said Sammy. 
Sammy is hopeful if they can execute their plans they can come 
up victorious against Rangpur. 
‘I think the team that makes fewer mistakes and keeps the momentum in their favour they will win. Cricket is mostly played in the middle and I asked my team just to go out and enjoy the game. We have to know how to absorb pressure and put back it to opposition. 
‘We have lot of skillful players at our dressing room and if we can execute our plans we’ll give ourselves good chance of winning,’ he said. 

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net