Shakib joins Rangpur Riders for BPL

Bangladesh men’s Test and T20 captain Shakib Al Hasan signed an agreement with Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Rangpur Riders on Wednesday, reports UNB.

This was disclosed at a press conference at Bashundhara Industrial Headquarters 2 in the city on Wednesday.

Shakib joined the team as a new icon player for the franchise in the next season of Bangladesh’s home T20 tournament. This means former captain of Rangpur Riders Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is not their icon player anymore.

It is believed that the Riders have parted ways with Mashrafe. However, it is yet to be cleared by the involved parties.

“I’m happy to be back to Rangpur Riders. I will try to deliver my best with them in the upcoming edition of BPL,” said Shakib at the press conference.

In the last edition of the event, Shakib played for the Dhaka Dynamites who ended as the runners-up for the second successive time.

Shakib denied commenting about Mashrafe's future with the Riders. He said he does not know anything about the matter when he was asked about the future of Mashrafe with the Riders.

It will be Shakib's second stint with the Riders. He previously played for this franchise in 2015.

The next season of BPL will kick off on 6 December this year. Before that, an opening ceremony is scheduled to be held on 3 December.