‘No need to see BPL as World Cup preparation’

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is set to take the field tomorrow with his team Rangpur Riders in the opening match of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). While focus was on the T20 tournament, the Bangladesh captain was also asked by reporters on how the tournament can benefit Bangladesh's preparation for the 2019 World Cup in England.

Many would feel that a newcomer or two can gain entry into the Tigers' outfit and playing in the BPL can also help with the national players' mentality. Mash however did not quite see it that way when he said, "Its's a great opportunity for younger players but for the World Cup, the tournament holds no importance.

Mashrafe has his reason for this particular opinion regarding the BPL tournament's importance.

"It's [tournament] a T20 format. Those who will bat there will face different situation to those that are faced [in ODIs]. Same for the bowlers. It might be the case that a bowler has to bowl one-over spell in a certain situation. So it's difficult to match with 50-over game," he said.

The Tigers captain also felt that conditions here and in England will not be similar and thus there is no point to putting much emphasis on T20 performances here. "If you look at the conditions, a lot less runs are scored here compared to England where there are 300, 320, 330 scores in matches," he said.

Mashrafe felt that New Zealand is where preparation for the World Cup will truly begin. "You can say that in New Zealand our World Cup preparation will begin," he concluded.