DHAKA, Oct 13, 2025 (BSS)- Akbar Ali finally found any tournament productive for him after displaying a good performance in the just concluded NCL T20.

 Along with leading the Rangpur Division to defend the title, he also did well with the willow and with the gloves at hands behind the wicket. 

Akbar Ali is the captain of the team that won the Under-19 World Cup in 2020. Only two cricketers-Akbar Ali and Avishek Das-- from the XI that played in the Youth World Cup final against India have not yet made international cricket debut.

This edition of NCL T20 has given new hope to both of them. Abhishek returned to the field after being out for five and a half years due to injury, and was also named Man of the Match in one match. And Akbar won man of the tournament awards.

Akbar is the second highest run-getter of the tournament with an average of 31.71 and a strike rate of 147.02 in nine matches. Not only in terms of numbers, Akbar has also played an important role in Rangpur winning several matches unlike the past tournaments.

There was no doubt about Akbar Ali as captain but as a batter and wicket-keeper he was not able to justify his name until this edition of NCL T20.

However, his leadership qualities have come to the fore once again. Rangpur were shaky at the start despite coming to defend the title. But the Midas Touch of Akbar Ali finally helped them seal the playoffs as fourth team.

They had to play the Eliminator, a game in which the loser would be eliminated from the final race. Akbar shone bright with his captaincy and helped the side win the thriller against Dhaka by just one wicket. 

They also then won the Qualifer-2, beating Chattogram by four wickets.

 The final, however was cakewalk for them unlike the past two knockout matches as they comfortably thrashed Khulna by eight wickets to retain the title. 

Akbar was the captain of the team when Rangpur won the inaugural edition of NCL T20. So far Akbar has led the Rangpur to three championships--the four-day edition of the National Cricket League (NCL) and two NCL T20 tournaments.

The Rangpur did never win the championship in their history before Akbar was appointed as their captain.