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Gayle can be a burden if he doesn’t score- Nazmul

Fortune Barishal batting coach Nazmul Abedin said on Sunday that he expect their batting stalwart Chris Gayle would come all guns blazing in the upcoming matches in the Bangladesh Premier League,

“I think he still has the ability to turn the game around in five overs. That ability is there. That’s why we still believe in him and leave that place to him so that he can be fully focused there. You don’t have to worry about his place. We hope that as time goes on he will gradually adjust and get better,” Nazmul told reporters on Sunday.

Barishal are in second spot in the BPL after collecting nine points from seven matches but with the top four teams closely following each other, defeat in more than one game in the rest of matches could put them in limbo.

But Barishal’s main problem is their batting, especially their top order, which failed to click so far. Shakib Al Hasan-led side still found them in top two, only because of their superior bowling attack. They defended less than 150 score three times, which was the testament of their bowling strength. But bowling won’t win them every game.

To solve their batting problem, they need Gayle to fire but with just 117 runs in five matches, the Gayle popularly called as ‘Universe Boss’ just remained his shadow.

“Honestly, yes, it can be (a burden for the team). Because if he doesn’t score, we won’t get anything from him,” said Barishal’s batting consultant Nazmul Abedeen Fahim without any reservation.

That Gayle almost reached the twilight of his career is nothing to hide. Even his fielding is also a major concern for the team.

But what Gayle could do, everyone knows, Fahim said.

Once settled at the crease, he can destroy the opponent single-handedly.  Because of his age and form issue, he this year didn’t put his name for the IPL auction.

But Gayle had some awesome records in the IPL. In BPL too, he had some records to cherish. In the final match in 2013, he scored a century off just 46 balls to help Dhaka Gladiator win the title. His first fifty came off 36 balls but he took just 10 balls to score the next fifty. Even in 2017 BPL final, he scored 146 runs in the final match, hitting 18 sixes, which remains the record still

However, to adapt to the condition, when every player had intense training Gayle  didn’t do that much apart from simple batting sessions. But it didn’t cause any harm for the team so far, Fahim informed.

Talking about the team culture, Fahim said, “We know the culture of the place where they are coming from is probably like that. That’s how they see or take the game. We have our eyes on that (Gayle’s absence in practice) so that it does not affect the team’s performance or the team’s discipline. But everyone else is very attentive, everyone is doing their job. That’s the decent thing to do.”

There is a common saying in cricket- ‘The day Gayle’s party mood is on, the rest is off.’ And Nazmul Abedeen Fahim appeared to have believed it.

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