England batsman Alex Hales is going to feature for the Rangpur Riders in the upcoming sixth edition of the country’s biggest franchise based T20 tournament Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Rangpur Riders CEO Ishtiaque Sadeque confirmed the matter on Tuesday (October 9).
Hales will open Rangpur innings alongside Chris Gayle. Photograph: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty Images
What makes Hales’ deal with the BPL franchise much more interesting is the fact that he had pulled out of England’s 2016 tour of Bangladesh, citing security fear, alongside Eoin Morgan. There was some criticism of the duo especially as the tour passed off without any incidents.
However, this time around, Hales is said to have been reassured by that tour passing without incident, while he has also taken advice from the tournament organisers and independent security professionals.
The 29-year-old batsman previously played under Tom Moody in the Indian Premier League (IPL) side Sunrisers Hyderabad this year, and once again he is set to be reunited with the Australian in BPL, where he might open alongside the West Indian left-hander Chris Gayle.
The BPL is scheduled to be held in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet from early January next year. Rangpur Riders are the current champions of the tournament, as they outplayed Dhaka Dynamites in the last edition of the BPL final. Rangpur retained four players from their previous arsenal, in the forms of the captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mohammad Mithun, Nazmul Islam Apu and Chris Gayle.
