Image courtesy by Essex Cricket  

British Bangladeshi batter Robin Das expressed his excitement be a part of to the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) earlier this month after being picked up by the Dhaka Dominators for the 9th edition of the tournament.

He told the BBC, “I couldn’t be more excited, not only to play in my first franchise tournament, but also for it to be in Bangladesh.”

Das, who is one of the very few cricketers of a Bangladeshi background in the country, is being coached by former Sri Lanka bowler, Chaminda Vaas at the Dominators and is playing alongside the likes of Sri Lanka’s Chamika Karunaratne and Pakistan’s Shan Masood & Ahmed Shahzad.

The east Londoner said to the BBC, “Shan Masood is an incredible player, he had an unbelievable year playing county cricket and he’s very experienced in all formats, so it would be great to tap into his knowledge.

“There are definitely a lot of high-profile players from other teams that it would be great to learn from too; Mohammad Rizwan, Dawid Malan, Shakib Al Hasan are all incredible cricketers,” he added.

The competition, which was last won by Comilla Victorians in 2019, began on Friday, 6 January in Dhaka with Das’s side beginning their campaign on Saturday when Dhaka Dominators took on Khulna Tigers.

When the opportunity to play in the tournament came his way, Das grabbed the opportunity. He told the BBC, “It’s obviously of great personal significance to me and my family.

He continued, “My dad is definitely very proud, it means a lot to him. “I don’t travel to Bangladesh very often so it will be great to see my family who live there,and hopefully for them to watch me play”.

Das, 20, made his T20 debut for the Eagles in September 2020 against Sussex Sharks and has made two further appearances in the format since.

This includes the matches against Sussex Sharks and Glamorgan last season, as well as playing in seven of the 8 matches in the 2022 Royal London Cup.