Shakib, Mashrafe praise Mirpur's 'unknown' wicket in BPL

Mirpur's pitch has often been criticised for its slow nature and low-scoring matches both in the domestic and international arenas. Batters have struggled over the years citing they 'don't understand' the wicket at SBNCS. 

But this year's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has seen a different and unknown Mirpur wicket. Despite the first few matches being low-scoring, the Mirpur wicket has produced some high-scoring and contested fights.

Sylhet Strikers have crossed the 200-run mark just yesterday, they also crossed 190 in their previous match. Chattogram Challengers chased down 179 runs losing just a wicket on Monday. Fortune Barishal have also had some big scores on the pitch.

Cricketers are also surprised to see such a wicket in Mirpur Stadium. It has been totally unexpected for them. Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza expressed their happiness after getting such wickets and praised them.

"The pitch is very good this year. It was very unexpected to get such a good pitch in Mirpur. So credit has to be given to the curator, that's why there have been plenty of runs and the fielding is also getting better, it's exciting," said Fortune Barishal skipper Shakib Al Hasan in a programme in Tejgaon today. 

Domestic cricketers are mostly contributing to the victory of the teams. Stating that this is possible because of the wickets, Shakib added, "Many (local cricketers) are playing well, consistently. If you see Shant, Zakir, and Hridoy are playing very well and other team players are also doing well."

However, Shakib feels that domestic bowlers should know the way to bowl well on such a wicket.

Mashrafe also made similar comments about the wicket after picking up a fourth straight win on Tuesday. The captain of Sylhet Strikers said, "If the wicket is good, it is easy for the batters to play. If you go to Chattogram, you can only get good wickets. Such a wicket was not available (in Mirpur). The wickets we saw in the last three days were great wickets. If we have such a wicket, we can produce some quality cricketers. It's a good thing that despite all the criticism, the on-field display has been fine. The wicket is really good."

"The batters are getting a good opportunity on these wickets. And most importantly, it's getting better for the bowlers as well. If you play on such a wicket, the ability of the bowlers also increases," Mashrafe added.