Under the radar, a milestone round

While most of Bangladesh is captivated by international cricket, two of the country's veterans will be inching towards significant milestones in the less-glamorous domestic circuit.

The tri-series match between the Tigers and Zimbabwe today will draw most of the attention, but left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak and batsman Tushar Imran may steal some of that thunder as they take the field for Prime Bank South Zone against Walton Central Zone in the second round of the Bangladesh Cricket League at the BKSP ground in Savar.

Razzak is just a wicket away from becoming the first Bangladeshi to scalp 500 wickets in first-class cricket while teammate Tushar is 35 runs shy of becoming the first Bangladeshi to score ten thousand first-class runs.

Razzak needed ten wickets to reach the landmark when South Zone faced Islami Bank East Zone in the first round, but the left-armer could bag only nine -- six in the first innings and three in the second -- to take his tally to 499, having to wait just a little longer to try and record the feat.

I have been playing for long time and I always had the desire to achieve such a feat. Playing both the National Cricket League and the Bangladesh Cricket League in the same season helps me as I get more matches. As you may have seen, I scored over 2,500 runs in the last season.

The 35-year-old, who made his ODI debut in 2004, is the Tigers' third-highest wicket-taker with 207 scalps in 153 games and has played a few crucial roles in the side's successes throughout his national career. The cricketer from Khulna played his last ODI in 2014 against West Indies and has a total of 12 Test and 34 T20I appearances to his name.

On the other hand, Tushar started the first round game on 9,860 runs before going on to smash his 25th first-class ton, the most by a Bangladeshi, before being dismissed for 105. As South Zone did not take the field for their second innings as East batted out the remainder of the match, the right-hander was also made to wait for the next round.

The 34-year-old played in 41 ODIs and five Tests since his international debut in 2001 but was unable to sustain his career on that stage following a series of disappointing results. However, the stylish middle order batsman has been a prolific run-scorer in the domestic circuit.

In the other match of the day, defending champions North Zone, who registered a comfortable nine-wicket win over Central Zone in the first round, will take on East Zone at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.