Ever since the Dhaka Premier League was granted List A status in 2013/14, a lot of foreign names have been travelling to take part in Bangladesh’s premier 50-over competition. The first season drew 82 foreign names from all around the world, including the likes of Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Jacob Oram and Ryan ten Doeschate.
The recently concluded season of the DPL this year has been in the news because of controversies – umpires staging a walk-out from a match, a club alleging that their own players were involved in match-fixing, and players alleging that they have not been paid. Despite all this, there is no denying that the 2016 DPL has seen some quality cricket being played as well, with many cricketers from Bangladesh and abroad involved.
The profile of the foreign players in the league has changed in the last two years. Of the 36 overseas players involved in 2016, 22 were Indian and 10 were Sri Lankan. With BCCI becoming more welcoming of the idea of sending Indian players to play in foreign competitions, as long as they are not ‘IPL-style’, there have been some big positives for Indian fans watching the 2016 DPL.
There were some big names who expectedly fired, like Manoj Tiwary (40 runs in 1 match), Yusuf Pathan (68 runs in 2 matches), Rajat Bhatia (105 runs and 2 wickets in 2 matches), Dinesh Karthik (179 runs in 4 matches). Haryana's Sachin Rana scored 75 runs and took 4 wickets in 2 matches and Sachin Baby of Royal Challengers Bangalore scored 127 runs and took 1 wicket in 5 matches.
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Bipul Sharma managed to score a century as well, but could not do much other than that. India hopeful Gurkeerat Singh could only manage 22 runs and 2 wickets in the 2 matches that he got to play, and is the Indian who shall probably be most disappointed with his stay in Bangladesh.
Uday Kaul (Abahani Limited)– 169 runs in 4 matches
Punjab’s Uday Kaul was the first Indian to have been signed up in the DPL, having played in Abahani’s first match of the season on April 22. His performances must have stood Indian imports in good stead, as his club went on to sign Pathan, Bhatia, Tiwary, Karthik, who stayed for shorter durations.
Kaul was a solid middle order batsman for the eventual champions of the DPL, managing scores of 44*, 63 and 59 in his first three outings. Kaul was returning to the DPL after a very successful season in 2012 for Prime Bank CC, when he had scored 221 runs in three innings.
Kaul also had a brief stay with Kings XI Punjab, but has failed to reproduce similar form there. The 28-year-old, who can also double up as a wicketkeeper, might be picked up by one of the franchises at the next IPL auction.
Puneet Bisht (Gazi Group)– 86 runs in 1 match
One other wicketkeeper who has reasons to be happy with his stay at the DPL is Delhi’s Puneet Bisht. The 30-year-old, who has been dropped from Delhi’s fist XI from all formats last season, got only one game for Gazi Group, but took full opportunity of his one chance.
In his only match, his team were chasing 220 from 33 overs, and everybody failed to fire but him. He smashed a 79-ball 86, but fell in the last stages of the chase, as they fell short by a few runs and went all out with three overs to go.
Bisht also has had a short IPL stay, with Delhi Daredevils, but as can be seen from his one-man show for Gazi Group against Victoria SC, he might have much more to offer.
Jatin Saxena – (Kalabagan CA) 279 runs and 7 wickets in 7 matches
Of all the Indian players in the DPL 2016, the biggest splash has been made by this lesser known Saxena brother, who was approached by his DPL team through his brother Jalaj. Jatin will be part of the newly formed Chattisgarh side in the Ranji Trophy from the 2016/17 season onwards, but has found chances hard to come by in Indian domestic cricket before this.
In the last eight years, the 33-year-old has played only 50 matches across all formats for Madhya Pradesh. It is expected, on proof of his superlative show in the 50-over format, that Jatin Saxena will be a name heard a lot of in the upcoming domestic season.
Unmukt Chand – (Prime Bank) 197 runs and 3 wickets in 6 matches
Unmukt Chand has been one of the names in Indian cricket’s recent times upon whom huge expectations were bestowed which were never fulfilled. As was to be seen from his DPL outings, however, there is one aspect of his game which we have not seen before.
The Delhi youngster was impressive with the bat, consistently getting into the 30s and 40s, but in his last match, against champions Abahani Limited last week, he shocked even his fans by bowling 9 overs of spin. Not only that, his figures of 3/59 were the best figures from his team on the day. He had never taken a wicket in any format before that.
With his useful off-break bowling as an added skill, could Unmukt Chand’s career see a revitalisation?
Pawan Negi – (Rupganj) 184 runs and 6 wickets in 5 matches
Pawan Negi has suffered a meteoric rise and a plummeting fall in the space of a very short time. Despite his sky-high billing in the build up to the 2016 IPL, he struggled to get into the playing XI for Delhi Daredevils, and failed with both bat and ball in the chances that he got.
In Bangladesh, however, Negi was in fine form, showing signs of why there had been such demands placed upon him.
Negi’s finest moment came in his second match for Rupganj, in a match against Victoria SC. With the ball, he picked up 2 wickets for 54 runs, but his performance with the bat was one that took breaths away, and is one of the contenders for the best batting innings in the whole tournament.
His team looked to be out of the equation with the score at 83/6 chasing 259, but that was before Negi smashed his maiden List A century, finishing with 124* off 89 balls. He also took his team to victory in emphatic fashion, hitting a six of the last ball of the 49th over with wickets getting scarcer at the other end.
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