Ryan rings the right Burl
WHEN Ryan Burl clobbered Bangladesh cricket’s talisman Shakib Al Hassan for a historic 30 runs in a T20 over in September, little did he know that he was ringing the right bell.
By smashing arguably Bangladesh’s greatest cricketer for 30 runs, the second most runs conceded by a Bangladesh bowler in a T20 over, Burl had opened up opportunities for himself.
One such opportunity came last week when the 25-year-old and his family followed the Bangladesh Premier League (cricket) draft on his mobile phone for three hours. Soon after, there was jubilation in the room.
The Chevrons all-rounder had been picked by the Chattogram Challengers for the 2019/20 BPL season.
“You never really know, but living with optimism feels good.
“I was live streaming the entire draft on my phone for about three hours. I was sitting in the lounge with my family, so I saw it live and then yeah, we were all ecstatic,” Burl said.
It must have been Burl’s shellacking of Shakib Al Hasan during the T-20 tri-series featuring Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and the hosts in September, that made the BPL teams notice him.
“I was just in the zone, “said Burl.
“I didn’t really know what I had done until the over was finished and I chatted with my batting partner.
“At some stage in the innings, I had to accelerate and take someone on. It just happened to be that over, and execution went as planned,” said the former Peterhouse pupil.
That over also unleashed a Ryan Burl mainly seen in the nets.
He was indeed out of the net as he exhibited impressive ball hitting prowess.
“It is a part of my game which I certainly like to bring out. It’s always exciting for both myself and the fans to get some good bat on ball and have a contest. So, it’s definitely something that I should be bringing out more often.”
Burl’s new understanding of his game is very clear after a solitary Test, 18 ODIs and 16 T20s.
“The goal is to keep improving. It’s a game where you can never relax.
“I’ve been hindered a lot by my injuries over the last three years, so to be almost completely injury free and have a good run in international cricket is nice. I took advantage of each opportunity I got.
“Most importantly, I’ve made a concerted effort to make a mental shift. I’m concentrating on a lot more things as well as ignoring small things, which I would normally worry too much about.
“So my mental shift is the key to the successes I have had this year.”
Burl is humble enough to acknowledge various people who have helped him along the way.
“I must also give credit to all the coaches and staff around the game, who have added value to my game in one way or another,” he said.
“I have done a fair bit of work behind the scenes with ex-trainer Sean Bell and other trainers, which has helped me a lot in terms of staying injury free.”
However, this year’s Christmas will be different for Burl as the BPL is running from December 6 to January 11.
“I wake up and do what I love doing — playing cricket. I’m sure that as a team, we will do something special. “
His teammates at Chattogram include West Indian legend Chris Gayle.
“Having a guy like Chris Gayle along with all the other vastly experienced guys we have in our Chattogram is awesome.
“It’ll be a great opportunity for me to feed off their experience and energy. Hopefully that will enable me to take my game to the next level,” said Burl.
He joins an illustrious list of other Zimbabwean players that have played in the BPL. These include former captain Hamilton Masakadza, Sikandar Raza and Brendan Taylor.