Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Dhaka Dynamites have signed up England ODI skipper Eoin Morgan for the upcoming edition of BPL, country’s lone franchise-based Twenty 20 tournament, confirmed franchise officials on Sunday.
“We have signed up Morgan for the upcoming edition of BPL considering his vast experience in the shorter format cricket. We are expecting him to be available for the whole season,” Dynamites’ Chief Executive Obaid Nizam told reporters on Sunday.
Dynamites have roped in ICC World Cup 2019 winning captain Morgan as one of its two direct overseas signings for the upcoming edition of BPL that has been scheduled to start from the first week of December 2019.However, Obaid added that they are yet to take any decision on who will lead Dynamites in the upcoming season considering they have Shakib al Hasan at their camp.
Shakib is a seasoned campaigner for Dynamites but he failed to win the championship in the last two editions despite reaching the finals. Nonetheless, Dynamites won their only BPL title under Shakib’s captaincy in 2016.
“We have to think about it (captaincy) because you know we have Shakib with us and he is leading the side for quite some time,” Obaid concluded.
This will be Morgan’s first foray into the BPL but he is not a complete stranger in Bangladesh domestic circuit as he played for Legends of Rupganj in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League (DPL), country’s prestigious club based 50-over tournament, in 2014.
Meanwhile, JP Duminy, the South Africa all-rounder who recently retired from ODIs at the conclusion of the ICC World Cup 2019, has been roped in by Rajshahi Kings for the upcoming edition of Bangladesh Premier League. The 35-year-old is one of Kings’ two out-of-draft signings, with the franchise yet to announce the other signing.
For the first time in his career, Duminy will be participating in BPL. Having announced his retirement from domestic cricket earlier this year, Duminy had expressed his desire to continue playing T20 cricket for South Africa and also participate in T20 leagues around the world. A couple of days back, Duminy was also picked as a marquee player by Belfast Titans for the inaugural Euro T20 Slam.Duminy was also part of the Mumbai Indians’ squad during the 2019 edition of the IPL but did not make it to the playing eleven in any of their games. In the 2018 IPL edition, he had only managed to score 36 runs in six matches for Mumbai Indians, having entered the tournament on the back of a decent PSL where he had scored 251 runs in 10 matches for Islamabad United.
“Rajshahi are proud to announce that South African all-rounder Duminy is a King now. Duminy; an elegant left-handed batsman, a useful spinner and a sharp fielder, has served South Africa for more than 14 years. He has vast experience in franchise cricket and already led PSL team Islamabad United to their second title in 2018,” the franchise posted on their Facebook page while announcing the signing.