Rangpur Riders in 2016

The Rangpur Riders are a franchise cricket team based in Rangpur, Bangladesh, which plays in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). They are one of the seven teams that are competing in the 2016 Bangladesh Premier League. The team is being captained by Naeem Islam. Prior to the fourth season, the ownership of the Riders were transferred to Sohana Sports. The team rearranged its playing squad, with Shahid Afridi, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Shehzad and many other acclaimed cricketers. Shakib Al Hasan, the icon player from the previous edition was transferred to Dhaka Dynamites. The club made headlines with acquisition of Shane Watson, David Miller and Anwar Ali.

The Riders started the season strong with a dominating victory against Chittagong Vikings, winning the match by 9 wickets with Mohammad Shehzad scoring 80 runs. The team continued its domination during its second game, getting Khulna Titans all out for 44, the lowest ever total in Bangladesh Premier League.

Player draft[]

The 2016 BPL draft was held on 30 September.^[1] Prior to the draft, the seven clubs signed 38 foreign players to contracts and each existing franchise was able to retain two home-grown players from the 2015 season.^[2] A total 301 players participated in the draft, including 133 local and 168 foreign players. 85 players were selected in the draft.^[3]

Player transfers[]

Prior to the 2016 draft, a number of high-profile players moved teams. These included transfers between competing teams and due to the suspension of the signing of Shahid Afridi as team captain of Rangpur Riders from the Sylhet Super Stars and Shakib Al Hasan as team captain of Dhaka Dynamites from Rangpur Riders.^[4]

Standings[]

Team	Pld	W	L	T	NR	Pts	NRR
Dhaka Dynamites (C)	12	8	4	0	0	16	+0.912
Khulna Titans (3)	12	7	5	0	0	14	−0.215
Chittagong Vikings (4)	12	6	6	0	0	12	+0.233
Rajshahi Kings (R)	12	6	6	0	0	12	+0.208
Rangpur Riders	12	6	6	0	0	12	−0.106
Comilla Victorians	12	5	7	0	0	10	−0.345
Barisal Bulls	12	4	8	0	0	8	−0.688
Source: Cricinfo.com, last updated 4 December 2016

• The top four teams will qualify for playoffs
•   advanced to the Qualifier
•   advanced to the Eliminator

Current squad[]

As of 25 October 2016

Name	Nat	Batting style	Bowling style	Signed Year	Notes
Batsmen
Soumya Sarkar		Left-hand bat	Right arm medium-fast	2015
Sharjeel Khan		Left-hand bat	Right-arm leg spin	2016
Babar Azam		Right-hand bat	Right-arm off break	2016
Pinak Ghosh		Left-hand bat	N/A	2016
Gidron Pope		Left-hand bat	Right-arm off-spin	2016	International Cap
Gihan Rupasinghe		Left-hand bat	Right-arm leg break	2016	International Cap
All-rounders
Shahid Afridi		Right-hand bat	Right-arm leg break	2016	International Cap
Anwar Ali		Right-hand	Right-arm fast medium	2016
Dasun Shanaka		Right-hand bat	Right-arm medium	2016	International Cap
Ziaur Rahman		Left-hand bat	Right-arm medium	2016
Naeem Islam		Right-hand bat	Right-arm off break	2016	Captain
Sohag Gazi		Right-hand bat	Right-arm off break	2016
Muktar Ali		Right-hand bat	Right arm medium-fast	2015
Liam Dawson		Right-hand bat	Slow Left-arm orthodox	2016	International Cap
Shane Watson		Right-hand bat	Right-arm fast medium	2016	International Cap
Wicket-keepers
Mithun Ali		Right-hand bat	N/A	2015	Opener
Mohammad Shehzad		Right-hand bat	N/A	2016	International Cap, Opener
Bowlers
Sachithra Senanayake		Right-hand bat	Right arm off spin	2015	International cap
Rubel Hossain		Right-hand bat	Right-arm fast	2016
Arafat Sunny		Left-hand bat	Slow Left-arm orthodox	2015
Elias Sunny		Left-hand bat	Slow Left-arm orthodox	2015
Mehrab Hossain		Right-handed Bat	Right-arm medium	2016
Shahbaz Chouhan		Right-hand bat	Slow Left-arm orthodox	2016
Richard Gleeson		Right-hand bat	Right-arm fast-medium	2016	International Cap
Administration and Supporting Staff
Head Coach	Javed Omar
Assistant Coach	Mohammad Rafique
Fielding Coach	Tatenda Taibu
Mentor

Overall records[]

References[]