Mashrafe or Comilla Victorians, who will hold the most successful record of BPL?

|| CF DESK ||

Sylhet Striker’s Mashrafe bin Mortaza, who is the most successful captain in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and Comilla Victorians, who are also the most successful franchise in BPL will lock horns tomorrow (Wednesday) in the ninth edition’s Final at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.

The new owners of Sylhet are a step away from clinching their maiden trophy under Mashrafe.

Mashrafe has a sterling record as a captain in the BPL in addition to his enviable record in international cricket.

The captain fantastic led various teams to BPL championships four times, with all four of those victories occurring in the first five seasons.

Mashrafe led Dhaka Gladiators twice (2012, 2013) to clinch the coveted trophy and then he won it for Comilla Victorians (2015) and Rangpur Riders (2017).

Imrul Kayes were the only other captain to have won the title twice with Comilla Victorians in 2018 and 2022. Shakib Al Hasan led Dhaka Dynamites to BPL Champions in 2016 while Andre Russell is the only foreign captain to have hoisted the title for Rajshahi Royals in 2019.

PHOTO: MASHRAFE AFTER THE WIN IN THE SECOND QUALIFIER AGAINST RANGPUR RIDERS, BCB

The Sylhet franchise, which would play in the BPL final for the first time, remained optimistic to win it because Mashrafe as he had never lost a final in BPL.

Sylhet were also more optimistic because after the Players' draft, everyone had written off the team, but Mashrafe's captaincy helped the team advance to the final.

The team were made up of older and younger players who lacked the reputation necessary to compete successfully in the major tournament.

Towhid Hridoy, Zakir Hasan, and Tanzim Hasan Sakib played a crucial role in advancing the team to the final thanks to Mashrafe's magic touch, which transformed those young players into match-winners.

"There is no magic. Allah has been kind to us and the players tried to play their best, so it happened," Mashrafe said after the win in the second qualifier against Rangpur Riders.

However he remains alert ahead of the final, saying that he didn't loss any final game as of now doesn't mean that he would win every final.

"It's final so we can't take any risk. We can't be complacent by thinking that Mashrafe didn't loss any final match. We have to give our best" he added.

After dropping their first three games in a row, including one against Sylhet, Comilla turned their season around, winning their next 10 games straight. They also defeated Sylhet twice during this time, winning the first Qualifier and the second leg before moving on to the finish line.

Imrul Kayes, the captain of Comilla, didn't lose any Final like Mashrafe, despite only playing the most important game twice.

"Comilla are the most consistent side in this tournament but that doesn't mean, we'll be no match against them. If we play our best cricket, and win the key moments, we can win the trophy. But again I said, I have no magic touch. The boys played well so far and I want them to fire again for just one more match," Kayes said.

PHOTO: IMRUL KAYES DURING THE PRESS CONFERENCE BEFROE TOMORROW'S FINAL, CRICFRENZY

After winning 10 matches in a row, Comilla knew a bad day can come and ruin their hopes. They however hope they will not be victimized by that 'law of average' in the most crucial game of the tournament.

"We'll try to play our best game. If we can come up with the game that we have been playing so far, we hope we can win the title," Comilla's captain Kayes said.

If Comilla win the title tomorrow, they will be most successful franchise in BPL solely, ousting Dhaka franchise, which under the name of Dhaka Gladiators and Dhaka Dynamites won the title thrice.