Rajshahi Royals
| রাজশাহী কিংস | ||
| File:Rajshahi Kings.png | ||
| League | Bangladesh Premier League | |
|---|---|---|
| Personnel | ||
| Captain | TBD | |
| Coach |  Lance Klusener | |
| Owner | Mango Entertainment Limited | |
| Team information | ||
| City | Rajshahi, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh | |
| Colors |  | |
| Founded | 2012 (as Duronto Rajshahi) | |
| History | ||
| Bangladesh Premier League wins | 0 | |
| Official website | rajshahikings | |
| ||
Rajshahi Kings (Bengali: রাজশাহী কিংস) are a Bangladeshi franchise Twenty20 cricket team. The team is based in Rajshahi in Bangladesh and competes in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a Twenty20 franchise cricket competition.
History
Duronto Rajshahi participated in the first two seasons of the Bangladesh Premier League in 2011/12 and 2012/13.[1] Following the suspension of all BPL franchises after the second season of the league, the Rajshahi Kings were formed in advance of the 2016/17 Bangladesh Premier League following a complete change in the team ownership and management. They competed in the fourth edition of the BPL in late 2016, losing in the final to the Dhaka Dynamites. On 6 October 2016, Darren Sammy was announced the captain of the side.[2]
Season overview
2016/17
The kings were the other new team alongside Khulna Titans participating this year. They signed Mohammad Sami and Darren Sammy (who was later on made the skipper) pre-draft. As they were one the new teams, the kings were allowed to select two local cricketers in the draft before the initial procedure. They selected Mehedi Hasan and Nurul Hasan. They signed Sri Lankan opener Upul Tharanga (missed whole tournament due to national commitments), English all-rounder Samit Patel and more from the overseas department in the draft. They bought Mominul Haque, Farhad Reza and some more local talents also from the draft. They also signed Kiwi all-rounder James Franklin and Jamaican seamer Kesrick Williams mid-tournament. They chose hard-hitting t20 specialist batting all-rounder Sabbir Rahman as their icon player.
The kings started off with a 3 run defeat to Khulna Titans and lost to Barisal Bulls (Sabbir 122) in a nail-biting finish. They notched up crucial victories against Dhaka Dynamites (did so twice) and Khulna Titans to qualify for the playoffs.
They won against Chittagong Vikings and Khulna Titans in the eliminator and the 2nd qualifier game respectively. Unfortunately, the suffered a heavy defeat against Dhaka Dynamites in the final.
Summary
| Season record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | Wins | Losses | No result | Run rate | Summary |
| 12 | 6 | 6 | 0 | +0.208 | 4th (of 7) |
| Batting records | |||||
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | SR | Highest Score |
 Sabbir Rahman |
15 | 377 | 26.92 | 137.81 | 122 |
| Mominul Haque |
15 | 331 | 22.06 | 128.16 | 64 |
 Samit Patel |
14 | 288 | 24.00 | 123.83 | 75 |
| Bowling records | |||||
| Player | Innings | Wickets | Average | Economy | Best Figures |
| Farhad Reza |
15 | 14 | 27.21 | 7.47 | 3/28 |
| Abul Hasan |
10 | 12 | 23.91 | 8.78 | 5/28 |
| Samit Patel |
13 | 11 | 20.00 | 6.11 | 3/19 |
2017/18
They recplaced previous icon Sabbir Rahman with wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim as the icon player and retained Mominul Haque, Farhad Reza and Mehedi Hasan. They signed English opener and part-time seamer Luke Wright and West Indian top-middle order batsmen Lendl Simmons to provide stability to the top order and also made a one-season contract with Zimbabwe's Malcolm Waller to give the lower-middle order a boost. They extended the contract for one more year with Franklin, Sami and Sammy (remade skipper).
In the draft, The Kings got the first pick in the lottery and unsurprisingly selected wiry left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman. They were riding their luck as they also gained the first pick in the overseas selection in the draft, picking Pakistani leggie Usama Mir. The surprise picks were U19 all-rounder Qazi Onik, in-form orthodox spinner Nihaduzzaman, pacer Hossain Ali and little known Pakistani all-rounder Raza Ali Dar.
2018/19
They retained Mominul Haque, Zakir Hasan, Mehedi Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman. They signed Afghan Qais Ahmad and South African Christiaan Jonker pre-draft
Sponsorship
| Year | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt sponsor (chest) | Shirt sponsor (back) | Chest Branding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Sbarro | Runner Automobiles | Microsoft | First Security Islami Bank Limited |
| 2017 | Crescent Footwear | First Security Islami Bank Limited | Flora Bank | |
| 2018 |
Current squad
- As of
The follwoing 4 players have been retained by the franchise for the upcoming tournament and rest players will be bought from the Players draft, which is supposed to be held on 25 October 2018.[3]
| No. | Name | Nat | Birth Date | Batting Style | Bowling Style | Signed Year | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsman | ||||||||
| 7 | Mominul Haque | |
29 September 1991 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | 2016 | ||
| 77 | Christiaan Jonker | |
27 September 1986 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | 2018 | Overseas | |
| All-rounders | ||||||||
| 53 | Mehedi Hasan | |
25 October 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | 2016 | ||
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||||
| 12 | Zakir Hasan | |
1 February 1998 | Left-handed | — | 2017 | ||
| Bowlers | ||||||||
| 90 | Mustafizur Rahman | |
6 September 1995 | Left-handed | Left-arm fast-medium | 2017 | ||
| 15 | Qais Ahmad |  |
15 August 2000 | Right-handed | Legbreal | 2018 | Overseas | |
Support staff
- Chairman:-
Hafizur Rahman Khan[4] - CEO:- Tahmid Azizul Haque[5]
- Directors:- Shameem Ahsan, Amzad Hussain & Muhammad Sayeed[4]
- Head Coach:-
Lance Klusener - Assistant Coach:-
Ashley Wright [6] - Patron:- Shahriar Alam[4]
References
- ^ "BPL 2016 draft: As it happened". Dhaka Tribune. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
- ^ "BPL 4 players draft today". www.bdcricteam.com.
- ^ "Rajshahi Kings release Mushfiqur Rahim ahead of BPL 2019", Cricbuzz
- ^ a b c "Patrons and Owners of Rajshahi Kings". Rajshahi Kings.
- ^ "Team Management". Rajshahi Kings.
- ^ http://rajshahikings.com/wright-brothers-fly-high-lukes-brother-ashley-takes-over-kings-assistant-coach-spot
External links
| Seasons |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Finals | ||
| Participating teams | ||
| Defunct/Suspended teams | ||
| Venues | ||
| Squads | ||
| Auctions | ||
| Statistics and records | ||
| Lists | ||
| Related topics | ||
