Dhaka Dynamites captain Shakib al Hasan expressed delight after claiming the Bangladesh Premier League 2016-17 season trophy and admitted that playing as a team was the key reason behind their success not only in the final against Rajshahi Kings but throughout the whole tournament.
“The biggest thing was the way the entire team played. It is always important to see how the team play. You may have many famous players but it is important how the team perform. Throughout the tournament, majority of the players performed at different moments. We wanted others to get the desire from the famous players and everyone in order to do well. We managed to create that good environment,” Shakib told the media in the post-match press conference in Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Friday.
“Honestly speaking, there is always a bit of pressure because we had a good team and everyone expected us to become champions. There was a bit of pressure but because [coach Khaled Mahmud] Sujon bhai was there, things became easier for us. And senior players helped us a lot. We had the experience and so, whenever we were on the back foot, we knew how to come back,” he said.
The run out of Rajshahi's Sabbir Rahman proved to be one of the turning points of the game
DHAKA TRIBUNEMahmud also praised the team's effort for the success and gave credit to all the players.
“The kind of team and experience we had, it was very good to work with this side. We performed as a team, we were scared at first as there are so many new players. I thought how they will adjust. But we adjusted well. It was a very enjoyable last one and a half months for us. We became successful because of the hard work of the players and everyone related to this team,” said Mahmud.
Following quite a successful season in coaching, Mahmud informed that he has the ambition of becoming the head coach of the Bangladesh team one day.
“Coaching is my passion. I will never leave coaching. I want to be Bangladesh team’s coach one day.”
However, Mahmud admitted that it was a challenge for him to manage such a star-studded squad. He said he felt pressure while managing it.
"There was pressure on me to coach a team like this. But since my playing career, I am used to taking pressure. In this case, it was not easy to drop Mahela Jayawardene. I mean, how will I tell him that he will be dropped? But I told him and he accepted it very sportingly. I am very lucky that those who came here, whenever I told them to do anything they supported me. Like anything, Mahela was always with me in the dressing room and supported us a lot,” said Mahmud.
Dhaka's Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara flays one through the cover region
DHAKA TRIBUNESri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara, who was named the player of the final, also praised the team culture and said he has enjoyed the entire tournament.
"It was a really enjoyable tournament for me. I think first of all, the management set up a very good culture in the dressing room. The captain is extremely experienced and has the respect of the local and the international players and that’s where it starts. Then we had some really good local players and some really good international players,” said Sangakkara.
“More importantly, everyone was trying to do their job in the side so it was a lot of fun playing with them. I am a great admirer of the West Indian boys. You have Andre Russell and Evin Lewis, even the guys who didn’t get a chance to play like Ravi Bopara and Mahela; they all contributed. I was very impressed with the local boys, [Abu Jayed] Rahi, and unfortunately [Mohammad] Shahid, who got injured. I think everyone contributed well and worked hard for the success," he concluded.
The run out of Rajshahi's Sabbir Rahman proved to be one of the turning points of the game DHAKA TRIBUNEMahmud also praised the team's effort for the success and gave credit to all the players.
“The kind of team and experience we had, it was very good to work with this side. We performed as a team, we were scared at first as there are so many new players. I thought how they will adjust. But we adjusted well. It was a very enjoyable last one and a half months for us. We became successful because of the hard work of the players and everyone related to this team,” said Mahmud.
Following quite a successful season in coaching, Mahmud informed that he has the ambition of becoming the head coach of the Bangladesh team one day.
“Coaching is my passion. I will never leave coaching. I want to be Bangladesh team’s coach one day.”
However, Mahmud admitted that it was a challenge for him to manage such a star-studded squad. He said he felt pressure while managing it.
"There was pressure on me to coach a team like this. But since my playing career, I am used to taking pressure. In this case, it was not easy to drop Mahela Jayawardene. I mean, how will I tell him that he will be dropped? But I told him and he accepted it very sportingly. I am very lucky that those who came here, whenever I told them to do anything they supported me. Like anything, Mahela was always with me in the dressing room and supported us a lot,” said Mahmud.
Dhaka's Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara flays one through the cover region DHAKA TRIBUNESri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara, who was named the player of the final, also praised the team culture and said he has enjoyed the entire tournament.
"It was a really enjoyable tournament for me. I think first of all, the management set up a very good culture in the dressing room. The captain is extremely experienced and has the respect of the local and the international players and that’s where it starts. Then we had some really good local players and some really good international players,” said Sangakkara.
“More importantly, everyone was trying to do their job in the side so it was a lot of fun playing with them. I am a great admirer of the West Indian boys. You have Andre Russell and Evin Lewis, even the guys who didn’t get a chance to play like Ravi Bopara and Mahela; they all contributed. I was very impressed with the local boys, [Abu Jayed] Rahi, and unfortunately [Mohammad] Shahid, who got injured. I think everyone contributed well and worked hard for the success," he concluded.