Afridi arrives today to play for Rangpur

Pakistan T20 specialist Shahid Afridi is expected to arrive in Dhaka today to play the upcoming fourth edition T20 tournament of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) though it was scheduled for him to come here on Wednesday.

Last year Afridi had performed BPL for Sylhet Royal but this time he will play for Rangpur Riders. It is learnt that Riders bought him by a staggering amount of money to get his full-time service.
Afridi, dubbed as ‘Boom Boom Afridi’ for his hard-hitting batting ability, played so far 224 T20 matches, including 98 for the national team, for different clubs and franchisees across the world since he made his T20 debut in 2006.
 The 36-year-old all-rounder has been dropped from the central contract of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). So he is available and can offer full-time for the Riders if he wants.
Before flying for Dhaka, the all-rounder told a Pakistan local daily that he might step into the ground to open for Rangpur Riders. 
“I’m eagerly thinking of opening the innings for Rangpur Riders if the management want me to do that. It would be big challenge for me because I did not perform as an opener for a long time. I will finalize the decision after scrutinizing my performance in the practice sessions,” said Shahid Afridi.
It is surfaced out that this veteran cricketer will lead Rangpur Riders throughout the tournament. But the franchisee is yet to announce the name of the player, who will captain the team.
In absence of Afridi, Rangpur Riders unveiled their team jersey at a local hotel yesterday, where they signed agreement with their sponsors and all key partners.
Rangpur Riders (RR) owner Kazi Irtiza Hasan, its vice chairman Ziaur Rahman, managing director Mizanur Rahman, CEO Shahin Ifti, COO Shafkat Hossain, director Fazlul Karim Chowdhury along with team manager Sanwar Hossain, coach Javed Omar Belim and team’s players were also present.
Riders purchased 10 foreign cricketers from players’ draft and out of draft from five different countries including Shahid Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Nasir Jamshed (Pakistan) , Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan), Dasun Shanaka, Sachithra Senanayake, Gihan Rupasinghe (Sri Lanka), Gidron Damien Pope (West Indies) and Gidron James Gleeson (England).
Of them, Sharjeel Khan and Babar Azam will not come to play BPL. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) didn’t give their non-objection certificate (NOC) to them along with Mohammad Nawaz, who was purchased by Barisal Bulls. They were supposed  to be included in Pakistan Test squad ahead of the New Zealand series. 
Rangpur Riders will take on Khulan Titans in the second match of the opening day on Friday.

Afridi arrives today to play for Rangpur

Pakistan T20 specialist Shahid Afridi is expected to arrive in Dhaka today to play the upcoming fourth edition T20 tournament of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) though it was scheduled for him to come here on Wednesday. Last year Afridi had performed BPL for Sylhet Royal but this time he will play for Rangpur Riders. It is learnt that Riders bought him by a staggering amount of money to get his full-time service. Afridi, dubbed as Boom Boom Afridi for his hard-hitting batting ability, played so far 224 T20 matches, including 98 for the national team, for different clubs and franchisees across the world since he made his T20 debut in 2006. The 36-year-old all-rounder has been dropped from the central contract of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). So he is available and can offer full-time for the Riders if he wants. Before flying for Dhaka, the all-rounder told a Pakistan local daily that he might step into the ground to open for Rangpur Riders. Im eagerly thinking of opening the innings for Rangpur Riders if the management want me to do that. It would be big challenge for me because I did not perform as an opener for a long time. I will finalize the decision after scrutinizing my performance in the practice sessions, said Shahid Afridi. It is surfaced out that this veteran cricketer will lead Rangpur Riders throughout the tournament. But the franchisee is yet to announce the name of the player, who will captain the team. In absence of Afridi, Rangpur Riders unveiled their team jersey at a local hotel yesterday, where they signed agreement with their sponsors and all key partners. Rangpur Riders (RR) owner Kazi Irtiza Hasan, its vice chairman Ziaur Rahman, managing director Mizanur Rahman, CEO Shahin Ifti, COO Shafkat Hossain, director Fazlul Karim Chowdhury along with team manager Sanwar Hossain, coach Javed Omar Belim and teams players were also present. Riders purchased 10 foreign cricketers from players draft and out of draft from five different countries including Shahid Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Nasir Jamshed (Pakistan) , Mohammad Shahzad (Afghanistan), Dasun Shanaka, Sachithra Senanayake, Gihan Rupasinghe (Sri Lanka), Gidron Damien Pope (West Indies) and Gidron James Gleeson (England). Of them, Sharjeel Khan and Babar Azam will not come to play BPL. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) didnt give their non-objection certificate (NOC) to them along with Mohammad Nawaz, who was purchased by Barisal Bulls. They were supposed to be included in Pakistan Test squad ahead of the New Zealand series. Rangpur Riders will take on Khulan Titans in the second match of the opening day on Friday.