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Homeboys dominate for a change

Mohammad Isam
When one searches for the most encouraging sign from this season's domestic cricket, particularly in the Premier League, it would definitely be the dominance of the local batsmen.
Nine out of the top ten batsmen in the recently-concluded competition are national colours, under-19 starlets and a couple of seasoned professionals who have all lived upto their billing in club cricket.
It is always expected that the local batsmen would take up responsibility of the particular club’s fortunes and this year, with the absence of big-name foreign recruits, they have done exactly that.
Shamsur Rahman, the stylish right-hander, carried Mohammedan Sporting Club in his 20-year-old shoulders when the Motijheel giants fell in a hole in the early part of the league. He struck four important fifties and celebrated his elevation as the 'next man for Bangladesh' tag with a century against City Club.
Popularly known as 'Boro Shuvo' because his nickname is easily mistaken with that of Mohammedan captain Suharwardi Shuvo, Shamsur Rahman made full use of his class and became the top scorer of the league by a margin of more than hundred runs from national opener Tamim Iqbal, who made 576 runs from 16 innings while the Mohammedan man played one less game.
Tamim’s Abahani teammate Imran Ahmed also delivered when most needed as Abahani were troubled by various injuries. The gritty right-hander who hails from Mymensingh struck four important fifties and a chanceless century. Another of Imran's contemporary returned to the big time, becoming third-highest scorer with 569 runs batting for runners-up club Surjo To run. Also in the top ten are Mohammad Mithun who outshone his more illustrious teammates like Mohammad Ashraful and Imrul Kayes in the run-makers’ table while Mithun's under-19 mate Amit Mazumder rounded off the top ten with nine short of the 500-run mark.
Just above the left-hander Amit is Zahid Niaz, Biman's Pakistani recruit and the only one ofseveral overseas players to make a mark.
This year has been particularly dry when it comes to foreign players in the Premier League but the likes of Sri Lankan great Sanath Jayasuriya, Indian batsman Venugopal Rao and Pakistani one-cap wonder Saeed Anwar Jr. brought a speck of lustre but it was all local this year. Former national captain Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu indicated towards the higher wages for first-class players in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for the declining of the standard of local players being brought into club cricket here.
"One of the reasons is that there's a lot of money in first-class cricket in foreign countries so it is hard to bring players with the amount offered by clubs," said Lipu, who is also the head of BCB's tournament committee. "But the ones who came are pretty good and performed and there was a big name like Sanath Jayasuriya," added Lipu.
So is that why the young batsmen take up responsibility? Lipu thinks it has more to do with their preparation than anything else.
"These batsmen have been seasoned while playing in the National Cricket League before Premier League. There they face tough conditions with grassy wickets. When they play in batting-friendly Dhaka wickets, it is much easier for them to bat. Also remember that they have played a lot of matches this season and definitely their performances are very encouraging," said Lipu.
But the former Abahani captain pointed out that the clubs also have to be professional in their approach.
"The local players will get even better if the club management become more profes-sional. They should be handling injuries in the modern way, keeping a role for the captain, and many other things that can be handled well by the club officials. For example, icc-baths have not been introduced in the club-level.
"I also think BCB should also help these clubs to become more professional," added Lipu.