Are Bangladeshis really overlooked in IPL?

There has been a common perception here that the Bangladeshis are "overlooked" in the IPL. With the rapid influx of players from Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Ireland, the belief has strengthened. But is this really the case?

It starts with Mohammad Ashraful, a man who has been involved with cricket for more than two decades. He said a few days ago that Sourav Ganguly "betrayed" him by not picking him in the inaugural IPL. Now, for a person who has played top-flight cricket for many years, it shouldn't be difficult to understand how franchise cricket works. Even if Ganguly wanted to call Ashraful, he had to take the consent of the owners, coaching staff. In Ashraful's words, there was an undercurrent of "being neglected because of being from Bangladesh".

He got a chance in the next season though and got an opportunity with the bat at number four, a position where he got that 20-ball fifty. But he faced 10 balls for his 2 runs inside the powerplay and got out to a harmless delivery by Pradeep Sangwan. In a team consisting of overseas players like JP Duminy, Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Kyle Mills, Luke Ronchi, DJ Bravo, it was hard for him to get a second chance after such a debut.

Abdur Razzak's debut was not good either. He went for 29 in his two overs and was the team's most expensive bowler. And it's well known how disastrous Mashrafe Mortaza's IPL debut was. Before Rinku Singh's epic onslaught against Yash Dayal, Mashrafe's final over (that went for 26) was the most expensive one while chasing in the history of the IPL. Dayal, being a local player, didn't get a chance after that and is likely to remain sidelined for the remainder of the season. So it's more difficult for an overseas player to get a chance after such a performance. 

Shakib Al Hasan has got his fair share of chances. Mustafizur Rahman played a whole season for Sunrisers Hyderabad and became the first overseas player to win the emerging player award. That means Mustafizur had the potential and so he was picked before he played enough international cricket and that's why he qualified for the award, much like Afghanistan's Noor Ahmad playing this year for Gujarat Titans. He wasn't overlooked because of being from Bangladesh. 

When Litton Das was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders, noted analyst Jarrod Kimber in his podcast said, "There is nothing in Litton's numbers to suggest that he can be an IPL pick." But surely he has the potential and it's quite likely that he would have been picked ahead of Rahmanullah Gurbaz had he been released earlier by the BCB. He was given a chance but you don't expect such a bad performance as an overseas keeper in the IPL on debut. 

Litton is a player who won't be available for selection in the business end of the tournament and so Kolkata management would have felt it is better to plan with the resources available and that's why not getting further chances is quite natural. 

One can argue that enough Bangladeshi players haven't been given chances in the IPL over the years. One reason can be that there is no notable success. Bangladesh haven't beaten a top-ranked team in the T20 World Cup for years whereas Zimbabwe beat Pakistan and Ireland beat England in the last tournament. 

Shakib identified that when he was playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2019 and made the best use of his time in the IPL and prepared himself for the World Cup. 

Also, Bangladesh don't have a ground in the IPL or other leagues because of the lack of quality Bangladeshi coaches in T20 circuit. Bangladesh is the only country among the top ten teams that don't have a coach in the franchise leagues. Naturally when you are a Brendon McCullum or a Ricky Ponting, you will go for a Tim Seifert or a Riley Meredith as a replacement player. 

Litton is not the only player who didn't get enough games despite so much ability. Finn Allen, who is the fastest-scoring Full Member batter in the history of T20s, has been with Royal Challengers Bangalore for three seasons without getting a single game.