Rangpur Riders in 2016
# 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. 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. A total 301 players participated in the draft, including 133 local and 168 foreign players. 85 players were selected in the draft.

### 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.

## 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 | 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 |
| Position | Name |
| Administration and supporting staff |||
| Head coach | Javed Omar |
| Assistant coach | Mohammad Rafique |
| Fielding coach | Tatenda Taibu |
| Mentor | Nazmul Abedin Fahim |

## Overall records

| Season | Matches | Wins | Losses | No Result | Run Rate | Summary |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2012 | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate | Did not participate |
| 2013 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | -.506 | Fifth (of seven) |
| 2014 | Tournament not held | Tournament not held | Tournament not held | Tournament not held | Tournament not held | Tournament not held |
| 2015 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | +.609 | Third (of six) |
| 2016 | 5 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – |
