Calling me 'Imrul bro' not a problem: Imrul Kayes

It has been quite a culture among Bangladesh fans to banter Imrul Kayes by calling the left-handed batsman 'Imrul bro'. There has been a lot of questioning regarding if this played with the batsman's mindset, but Imrul has said that he has no problem with it.

After playing a clinquant knock to take Chattogram Challengers to victory against Dhaka Platoon, Imrul said in the press conference that such bantering was no problem for him. 

"If someone has fun calling me 'Imrul bro', then I have no regret. They are calling me that from love, I have no problem in that," the Chattogram Challengers skipper said. 

Various troll pages have taken a dig at Imrul after his various poor showing for the national team, but the batsman seems to have replied to all those with the bat as he is the leading Bangladeshi run-scorer in this edition of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). 

He also spoke about the team's performance, who have almost ensured a playoff spot with six wins from their eight games. He said that this was because of the whole team performing. He said, "The team is doing well. Everyone is contributing unless we wouldn't have been here. The results are coming because the team is gelling together."

Imrul also said that he is trying to do his best and is looking forward to playing like this the whole tournament. 

"I am hoping that I will be playing the whole tournament like this. Mahmudullah is not here, so I am trying to do my best. I don't know how well I am doing on a personal level," said the experienced campaigner.

Questioned if he hoped for a place in the T20 squad after his credentials in the BPL, he said that he did not want to answer that. He added, "Wherever I play, I try to do my work. BPL, Premier League or National team, wherever I play I will try to perform. Sometimes I will be successful, sometimes I will not. A player can not always prevail. I don't want to play here targeting a national side callup. I do my job and if they think that I am good enough they will surely ring me up. If they don't I have no problem."

Imrul Kayes was the winning captain of last year's BPL when he lifted the trophy with Comilla Victorians. Imrul was asked how was this campaign different from the last year and he replied, "Last year was my first stint as a captain. I did not understand a lot of things. I did whatever was deemed the best for the team, I batted lower down the order. This year around I have a fixed batting position and have been given the responsibility. When you understand the importance, your responsibility will grow. When you perform as the captain, you feel good. As Mahmudullah is not here, my responsibility is more."

Chattogram Challengers currently sit on top of the points table with 12 points, registering six wins from their eight matches.