PHOTO: FIROZ AHMED

SPORTS REPORTER

Perennial rivals Abahani Limited and Mohammedan Sporting Club will face off in Mirpur while Agrani Bank Cricket Club and Prime Bank Cricket Club will vie for the final spot in the Super League as the 11th and final round of the first phase of the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) commences today.

The lustre of the Abahani-Mohammedan rivalry right now is not what it used to be during the heydays of DPL, but the game still carries significance due to top names taking part.

The last time tempers flared in an Abahani-Mohammedan clash was in 2021, and it was instigated by Mohammedan captain Shakib Al Hasan, who kicked down the stumps in a fit of rage over a leg-before appeal being turned down by the umpire.

“It was not the best of incidents, it’s better if these kinds of things don’t happen,” Najmul Hossain Shanto, Abahani and Bangladesh captain, told reporters in Mirpur with a smile when asked about the incident yesterday.

Shanto acknowledged that fanfare surrounding the rivalry has decreased quite a bit but claimed the players still feel excited for the match.

“The excitement is similar to every other year and at the end of the day it’s another match. People always have extra expectations surrounding an Abahani-Mohammedan match and hopefully tomorrow’s [today’s] match will be exciting,” he said.

“It’s true that it [Abahani-Mohammedan rivalry] is not as exciting as before. People don’t come to watch Abahani-Mohammedan matches like before. When I started out in 2015-2016, I would see some people in the gallery. Why it [excitement] has decreased, I don’t have the answer,” he added.

Both sides have already secured a place in the Super League, with Abahani topping the table with 18 points and Mohammedan in second place, trailing them by two points.

The star-studded Mohammedan will be without Tamim Iqbal and Taskin Ahmed but will hope that the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad and Towhid Hridoy can fire them to a victory. Meanwhile, Shanto, Mosaddek Hossain and Nahid Rana will carry the hopes of Abahani.

Meanwhile, the sixth and final spot in the Super League will be decided today. The current sixth-place holder Agrani Bank Cricket Club will face fourth-placed Legends of Rupganj in Mirpur while seventh-placed Prime Bank Cricket Club will take on fifth-placed Gulshan Cricket Club at BKSP.

Agrani are currently on 12 points, two more than Prime Bank. If Agrani lose and Prime Bank win today, then both teams will be on equal 12 points and Prime Bank would edge Agrani on head-to-head and take final slot in the Super League.