Alok Kapali emerges as Victorians' hero after BPL drafts rejection

Overlooked in the player draft, Alok Kapali has answered his critics with steely nerves to take Comilla Victorians to the Bangladesh Premier League title.

He struck a valiant 28-ball 39 to power the Victorians to a breathtaking three-wicket win in the last ball against Barisal Bulls at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Ironically, the veteran batsman was left without a team after he had been overlooked in the players-by-choice transfers in October.

Kapali had dreaded at the prospect of not playing any part in the third edition of the competition.

Victorians skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, who won the title for a third straight time as captain, stepped up and asked the Comilla franchise to get him.

By then, Rangpur Riders had considered roping Kapali in. He went on to take part in several training session with the franchise.

A battle began as the Victorians, too, maintained their bid to add him to the squad before eventually getting their man just before the start of the competition. 

Kapali could barely wait for his time to repay the faith and in came the final.

"I did very well in first-class cricket last year and thought I would get a team in this BPL. When I didn't, it felt really bad," he told journalists after the match.

"Comilla had later taken me in. I was willing to live up to their hopes as much as possible. I believed whenever I'd get the chance to bat up the order, I’d be able to do something. And that happened today."

In a nerve-racking situation on Tuesday, the Victorians needed 23 off 9 balls to lift the trophy. Kapali then played some extraordinary shots to steer his team to the title.