James Vince (1 off 7 balls), Tim David (7 off 9 balls), and Andre Russell (4 off 9 balls)—a combined total of just 12 runs from 25 balls. These were the performances from Rangpur Riders’ three overseas players in their BPL eliminator match against Khulna Tigers. Despite their low output, the franchise spent a whopping 1.25 crore taka (around $100,000) to bring them in.
The trio arrived from the ILT20 the day before the match, but their efforts fell short, contributing very little to the team’s total of just 85 runs. Khulna Tigers chased down the target in just 10.2 overs, sealing Rangpur’s elimination from the tournament.
The three overseas players arrived in Bangladesh after a long flight from Dubai, with little time to rest before the match. Rangpur’s assistant coach Mohammad Ashraful downplayed fatigue as the main issue, stating,
“Since they came in business class, fatigue should not be a problem. Maybe playing at night could have affected them, but they are professional players.”
Instead, Ashraful pinpointed a lack of courage from the local players, particularly after Soumya Sarkar was run out on the second ball of the first over. Rangpur collapsed to 19 runs from 6 overs in the powerplay, losing five wickets in the process. Ashraful expressed disappointment:
“Our players should have played with more courage, especially since it was a big match.”
BPL 2025: Soumya’s Struggles Follow Naeem’s Century as Rangpur Falls Short.
Rangpur had started the season strong, winning their first eight games and securing a spot in the play-offs. However, a string of four consecutive losses led to their early exit. Ashraful also pointed out that the local players failed to step up:
“In the last five matches, our locals should have played more aggressively, like Khushdil Shah did earlier in the tournament.”
Khushdil’s departure, in particular, was seen as a major setback. Ashraful lamented,
“Khushdil’s absence left a big hole in our lineup. After he left, no one could take his place, and our performance dropped off.”
Ultimately, the combination of poor local performances and the underwhelming contributions from their overseas players led to Rangpur’s disappointing elimination from the BPL.
