Four Bangladeshi cricketers—Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shariful Islam, and Towhid Hridoy—have returned home after competing in the Lanka Premier League (LPL). Meanwhile, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan participated in the United States Major League Cricket (MLC), though his return date remains uncertain.
Following the T20 World Cup, these five players left Bangladesh to join various franchise teams globally. In the LPL, Taskin represented Colombo Strikers, Hridoy and Mustafiz played for Dambulla Sixers, and Shariful joined Kandy Falcons. Unfortunately, none of these players managed to perform well, often missing out on the playing XI due to subpar performances.
Mustafiz took five wickets in four matches with an economy rate of 11.6 runs per over. Shariful and Taskin each claimed four wickets in five and three matches, respectively, but were also expensive. Hridoy, one of Bangladesh's leading T20 batsmen, struggled with the bat, scoring just one run in three matches for Dambulla.
Shariful was the first to return home, followed by the other three after the tournament concluded. Jaffna Kings clinched the LPL title by defeating Galle Marvels by nine wickets. In the MLC, Shakib's performance was also disappointing.
He played four matches for Los Angeles Knight Riders, losing three of them. After being dropped from the playing XI in the fifth match, Los Angeles secured a win.
In four matches, Shakib scored only 60 runs with a strike rate of 125 and took just one wicket with an economy rate of 11.10. Captain Sunil Narine did not allow him to complete his full quota of four overs in any match. Shakib, still in the United States, is expected to travel to Canada on Friday to participate in the Global T20 League, according to BCB sources. The return date of this star all-rounder is still unknown.
