Mominul joins Rangpur in BPL

Babar bids emotional goodbye, bows out as top run-getter in BPL

FE Team | Published: February 08, 2024 22:00:44

Rangpur Riders have enlisted former Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque for the ongoing season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the team announced on Wednesday.
The announcement follows the departure of three foreign stars from Rangpur-Babar Azam, Mohammad Nabi, and Azmatullah Omarzai-prior to this season.
Mominul's omission during the squad formation late last year surprised many.
"I wasn't frustrated," Mominul said when asked about his feelings regarding the earlier oversight.
He mentioned being occupied with practice sessions for the upcoming Sri Lanka series and expressed his interest in following the BPL matches.
With 122 T20 appearances and over 2000 runs alongside 11 half-centuries, Mominul brings a wealth of experience to the team.
The left-handed batter is mostly known for his ability of batting well in the longer format of the game. But he can be handy in the shorter format too, as hinted by his T20 record.
Rangpur, Mominul's new team, has contested seven matches in this season's BPL, clinching victory in five. Currently leading the points table with 10 points, Rangpur holds a superior run rate over Chattogram Challengers, who also boast 10 points.
Comilla Victorians, the current BPL winners, and Khulna Tigers are the other two teams in the top four of the points table.
After a day of break, BPL will resume on Friday in Dhaka. Following the ongoing Dhaka phase, the BPL will travel to the port city of Chattgoram before returning to Dhaka for the final phase.
Meanwhile, Babar Azam penned down an emotional note after his stint with the Rangpur Riders in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2024 came to an end. The 29-year-old joined them after playing in the 5-match T20 series against New Zealand and turned out to be an asset for the Riders, report agencies.
Babar and the other Pakistani cricketers were allowed a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) until February 06.
Babar, who will now represent Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024, expressed gratitude to the Riders and backed them to win the title.
When Babar played his last game, he was the leading run-scorer of the BPL 2024. In 6 matches, the Lahore-born batter scored 251 runs at an average of 50.20 and a strike-rate of 114.61 with 2 half-centuries and a top score of 62 against Durdanto Dhaka at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
Apart from his odd failure against Khulna Tigers when he scored 2 runs, Babar got scores of 56 not out, 62, 37, 47 and 47 in the other 5 matches.
Babar is also on the threshold of becoming the 13th batter to score 10,000 runs in T20 cricket. The right-handed batter will have a chance to achieve the feat in the PSL as he is only 74 runs away from the landmark.