Opening day of BPL 2016 washed out due to rain

The highly anticipated opening match of the fourth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) was washed out without a single ball being bowled as spectators who flocked the Shere Bangla National Stadium were left disappointed after coming in with high expectations. The second match between Khulna Titans and Rangpur Riders also suffered a similar fate as persistent showers meant no play was possible thus giving the tournament a damp start.

The 2016 season opener was set to pit defending champions Comilla Victorians against Rajshahi Kings at Bangladesh’s iconic venue and the huge crowd that gathered at the stadium despite the threat of rain playing spoilsport were beaming with expectation as the skies cleared after a wet start to the day and remained so till about 10 minutes before the scheduled start of play at 2:20 PM local time.

However, much to the disappointment of the fans and players alike, the rain came pouring down and with the showers showing no signs of respite the on-field umpires in consultation with the match referee had no option but to call off the game at 4:50 PM. Today was the first instance in the BPL since it’s inception in 2012 when a match was washed out without a single ball being bowled.

The rain was so heavy that not even a toss was conducted and the whole field of play remained under covers throughout.

Signs were not looking good for the second match either which was scheduled for only hours later and so it proved as rains continued to pour down at the venue forcing the ground to remain under covers throughout the day. A depression in the Bay of Bengal has brought about huge amounts of rainfall to Dhaka and neighbouring parts of Bangladesh and the weather prediction doesn’t look good for the coming days as well.

Coming hot on the heels of Bangladesh’s famous Test win against England just a few days back, the fourth edition of the BPL promises to be a highly competitive tournament featuring many overseas T20 specialists including the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell from the West Indies as well as Sri Lankan legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

The PCB have also issued NOC’s to as many as 15 cricketers with the likes of Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi set to be the main attractions. The crowd will, however, have to wait for the weather to improve before catching stars in action on the field. Two matches have been scheduled for the second day of the tournament to be played at the same venue on Saturday with Barisal Bulls taking on Chittagong Kings in the opener followed by Comilla Victorians match against Dhaka Dynamites.