Shakib vows to make Rangpur Riders BPL champions
Photo- Collected
|| CF Correspondent ||
Shakib Al Hasan is upbeat about clinching the BPL title with Rangpur Riders after joining the franchise, leaving Dhaka Dynamites in which he played for three seasons.
The cash-rich tournament begins on December 6.
The ace all-rounder has signed a one-year contract with the Rangpur Riders on Wednesday after which the franchise owners Basundhara Group presented him in their headquarters.
The Bangladesh talisman who made some unique records in the recently concluded World Cup on the way to his 606 runs and 11 wickets is currently on leave from Bangladesh duty.
This is Shakib's second stint with the Riders although he played under different owners during the 2015 season, in which he took 18 wickets but scored only 136 runs in 11 matches.
Shakib has also played for Khulna Royal Bengals (2012) and Dhaka Gladiators (2013).
However he is hopeful that the team Rangpur is building they will end up as champions in the seventh edition of the tournament.
“They have become champions in Football. I have seen that. One of my friends played there. Hopefully we can make them champions in cricket too,” Shakib said after signing the contract on Wednesday.
Tom Moody will act as the coach of Rangpur Riders and Shakib has the experience to work under him in his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Shakib said he will be comfortable in Rangpur tent since everyone here is known to him, specially Moody.
“I worked with Moody in Sunrisers Hyderabad. He will do the most of the work while my duty will be to bring the best out of the players as a captain. I am known to all in this team so I don’t think the transition will be difficult,” Shakib said after signing the contract.
Shakib said the BCB’s decision to bring up world’s top players in the BPL will increase the hype of the BPL.
“The BPL always plays an important role in taking out country’s cricket to another height. BCB has taken the initiative to bring up the world’s best players here and it is good for the BPL and the hype will be raised significantly.”
Earlier, Mushfiqur Rahim joined Comilla Victorians, leaving Chittagong Vikings who confirmed that they won’t take part in this edition. Khulna Titans however roped in Tamim Iqbal, who was the part of Comilla Victorians in the last edition.
