Abu Hasim among the standout performers in NCL T20
The second edition of NCL T20 tournament ended on Sunday with Rangpur Division clinching back to back trophy. Rangpur sealed the playoffs after struggling a lot but when they regained their form, they were unstoppable. After winning two knock out matches- Eliminator and Qualifer-2-by holding their nerves, they made the chase a cakewalk in the final to beat Khulna by eight wickets. With the national players busy with the Asia Cup and Afghanistan series, there was an opportunity for the players, aspiring to reach the door of the national team, to make a mark.
Rangpur basically rode on captain Akbar Ali, who eventually was adjudged man of the tournament and the veteran Nasir Hossain who showed some composure in all three knock out matches. Nasir was adjudged the man of the final. But the surprise package was their left-arm spinner Abu Hasim, an unfamiliar face to the mass people, took second highest 12 wickets in nine matches with a measly economy rate of 5.03. Hasim's bowling was instrumental in Rangpur's juggernaut as they even defended low total quite comfortably to keep them in the playoffs race. Chattogram's off-spinner Mohammad Rubel also caught the attention with 10 wickets from eight match, conceding 5.21 runs per over.
He also won the award for the most promising cricketer of this year's tournament. Rubel was the highest wicket-taker in the Chattogram Regional T20 held a few days ago and in the first division cricket last year. The highest wicket-taker in this year's NCL is another spinner from Chattogram, Hasan Murad. The offspinner who took 14 wickets in eight matches, has been doing well in longer format cricket for a long time. Although he got a place in the national team once in the Test, he has not yet made his debut. Khulna offspinner Sheikh Parvez Jibon is the third highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 11 wickets in seven matches. Chattogram's Mahmudul Hasan Joy has become the highest run-scorer in the second edition of NCL T20.
Although a familiar face in the Test team, Joy played only three T20 Internationals and that too for the second-tier team in the Asian Games. However, this time, the opener has scored 323 runs in eight matches at a strike rate of 155.39. Mahmudul, who scored a century, has hit 21 sixes. Along with Mahmudul, Habibur Rahman Sohan also has achieved batting success in this year's NCL T20. This opener from Rajshahi has been known for his aggressive batting for a long time. He has also played regularly in the BPL, but could not perform up to the mark yet. Habibur scored 218 runs with two half-centuries at a strike rate of 183.19.
