|| CF Correspondent ||

Bangladesh Premier League champions Rangpur Riders head coach Tom Moody said that they could not retain the service Sri Lankan duo Lasith Malinga and Kushal Perera as they failed to provide proper balance to the present squad.

Both Malinga and Perera were part of the squad that eventually won Riders their maiden BPL trophy but none of them were retained by the franchises neither they were interested to pick them.

‘’A lot depended on the way our local picks came early on to balance the side. Both Malinga and Perera are fine cricketers; we would’ve loved to have them back. But we also had to consider the balance of the side,’’ Moody told reporters after the players draft.

‘’They are very specific cricketers – one is obviously a specialist fast-bowler, the other being an all-rounder. The time those overseas options came up, we just felt that there were other needs for the balance of our side,’’ he said.

‘’Therefore, we had to look elsewhere[ apart from Malinga and Perera],’’ he said.

Moody said that they are confident that they can retain their title with the available squad but emphasized on the importance of looking at the present rather than banging on their past glory.

‘’Obviously, next year is a completely new tournament. The success that we had last year was great,’’ said Moody.