Melody floods the home of cricket

The opening ceremony of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL), organised to mark the 100th birth centenary of Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, gathered steam after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina officially announced the opening of the special edition of the T20 tournament at around 7:00pm at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hassan had promised that it would be one of the best opening ceremonies in the history of the BPL. However, there was some mismanagement and the programme had to be delayed by more than an hour. Scheduled to begin at 5:25pm, the ceremony finally started at 6:30pm.

After the prime minister inaugurated the event, there was a 10-minute fireworks display to pump up the audience before performers from Bangladesh and India kept spectators on their feet.

The likes of James, Reshmi Mirza and ‘dRockstar’ Shuvo from Bangladesh entertained the crowd, but another local singer who was scheduled to perform, Momtaz, did not appear.

It was then popular Indian singer Sonu Nigam who surprised everyone by singing the famous Bengali songs ‘Dhono Dhanne Pushpe Bhora’ and ‘Shuno Ekti Mujibur’.

By then, the main attractions of the opening ceremony -- Bollywood superstars Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif -- arrived at the venue and met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BCB President Nazmul Hassan.

Another Indian singer, Kailash Kher, performed all his famous before Katrina lit up the stage with her dance moves.

The anticipation reached its crescendo and Salman stepped onto the huge stage and the fans at home of cricket in Mirpur stood on their feet and enjoyed the Bollywood star performing in front of their eyes.

Much like the opening ceremony, fans will also hope to witness exciting cricket on the field in the special edition of the BBPL, which is scheduled to begin from December 11.