After much planning and fanfare, the much-awaited Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) finally kicked off in Dhaka last Friday, 10th of February.

The Twenty20 tournament features six teams, and the competition has started with a double round-robin group stage, in which the teams will play each other twice. These matches will then be followed by two semi-finals and a final.

With the financially lucrative format attracting players from many countries, the eyes of Pakistani fans are focused on a number of their own players, many of whom have featured quite successfully for the national team at the highest level.

Whilst the likes of Rana Naved, Abdur Razzaq, Kamran Akmal have by and large played important roles in the Pakistani team, Yasir Arafat is largely regarded as a talent unfulfilled.

The 29 year old Arafat who has only played three Test matches, 11 ODIs and seven T20Is for Pakistan is now an integral part of the Barisal Burners team in the BPL . He recently spoke to PakPassion.net about his delight at playing alongside some of the top players in the world and his experiences in the BPL.

“I'm really enjoying playing in Bangladesh, the crowds are fantastic and very enthusiastic about the sport”, echoing the words of many international cricketers who have toured the country. “The passion for cricket in Bangladesh is immense and no doubt such tournaments will raise the profile of the sport further, as well as providing some entertainment to the local fans.”

In addition to the support for the local sides, Arafat who last season played for Surrey in English County Cricket also notes the high standards of event management observed to date “The tournament is well organised. The organisers have done a fantastic job given the short amount of time they received to organise the tournament and on a personal level, it's great to be playing with and against players from all over the world.”

It's never easy managing not only the numerous fans who have been flocking to the stadia, but high-profile players who have experienced the very highest echelons of the sport - Arafat himself was involved in the 2009 T20 World Cup until his tournament was cut short due to injury.

Arafat is also enjoying playing with a number of talented team-mates “It's wonderful to be playing on the same team as the likes of Chris Gayle. It's also a bit of a relief, as it means I don't have to bowl at him!” A sentiment no doubt many bowlers in the tournament wished they could say, after the former West Indies captain hit 101 off just 44 in Barisal Burners’ 10-wicket thrashing of the Sylhet Royals in their opening match.

Arafat's fellow Pakistani, Ahmed Shahzad also scored 56 off just 35 balls in the match, and as a naturally attacking player, Arafat feels Shehzad has the potential to match Gayle “Ahmed Shehzad is a fantastic talent with all the shots. At times he has matched Gayle shot for shot. It's breathtaking watching the two of them bat together."

Although Arafat's team the Barisal Burners have played well so far, they remain focused “We have won two matches out of two and it's certainly a good start, but there is a lot of hard work to be done yet. There are a lot of strong teams, with many good players in their lineups. In my opinion, it's a wide open competition and the team that finds the most consistency will win.”

Arafat was the pick of the bowlers against the Sylhet Royals, picking up 2/33, but he indicates the conditions favour the batsmen “It's hard work for the bowlers, as the wickets are very batsman friendly and the boundaries are not the largest. Bowlers are thoroughly tested on these sort of wickets and in this format”.

In addition to the challenges offered by the flat wickets, Arafat also notes the schedule can take it's toll on the players “The matches are coming thick and fast and there is very little time to recover from each match and from injuries. We have recently lost bowler Shane Harwood for the rest of the tournament due to a hamstring injury, so that puts extra responsibility on the other bowlers.”

The positive appraisal of the tournament ends with his hopes of more such events in the future “This is the first BPL tournament and I'm sure future tournaments will be even bigger and better as the profile gets higher.”

Barisal Burners continue their quest to lift the inaugural BPL title when they face the Khulna Royal Bengals on Monday.