Ashraful set to make BPL comeback after 5 years

Former national captain Mohammad Ashraful is all set to make a comeback in the franchise-based Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 after five years through Chittagong Vikings.

Chittagong Vikings will start their BPL campaign on the opening day of the league on January 5 when they face defending champions Rangpur Riders at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in the capital.

Mushfiqur Rahim, former national captain, will be leading the Vikings during the BPL. In the last season of BPL, the Vikings finished 6th on the points table. They are eager to write a new history this time.

Ashraful, right-handed top order batsman, appeared at the first practice session of Chittagong Vikings on Wednesday and talked to the media.

“It’s a great feeling. I’ve played in the country’s first-class cricket and also in the Dhaka Premier League in the last two years, but now it’s a big stage for me to play in the ensuing BPL, which will be broadcast around the globe. So, it’s a big opportunity for me to flourish again,” he said.

“It’s a great privilege to play in the BPL again, and I would love to thank the owners of Vikings giving me chance to play for them. I know how to play the T20s and I’m experienced as well. So I’ll try to do my best,” the former Bangladesh captain added.

Ashraful last played in the BPL back in 2013 when he got involved in a match-fixing scandal. That forced him to stay out of the highest level of the game. But, now all of his bans have been lifted, and he is eligible to play any format of the game.

“It’ll be challenging for me because it’s an international standard tournament. I think the good performance in BPL is counted. So, I’m upbeat to accept the challenge,” he said.

“Since I’ve played international cricket for 13 years and I also played BPL’s first two seasons, it won’t be too tough for me to adapt with the style of T20. I must try to do something countable for Vikings,” Ashraful added.

During the last edition of Dhaka Premier League, he hit five centuries for his team Kalabagan Krira Chakra. But he failed to maintain this form in the first-class leagues.

Ashraful said he is confident to make another comeback to the national side. As regards to his national comeback, the right-handed stylist batsman said: “I think I’ll be playing cricket for a few more years. If I can show consistency in the domestic circuit, I could earn a national call. But, I’m not focusing on that right now. My main focus is to play my best cricket in the BPL.”

Source: unb