‘Every time I come back here, I see more and more young talent’

Rangpur Riders head coach Mickey Arthur had a busy day getting to grips with the assignment ahead having joined the franchise today.

Najmul Hossain Shanto hit 34 while Tanzid Tamim hit a 22-ball 31 as Rajshahi Warriors chased down Rangpur's 136 for five in 18.1 overs in a practice game at Bashundhara Sports City. Iftekhar Ifti struck a 45-ball 58 for Rangpur while Tawhid Hridoy struck 26 off 19. Litton Das and Mahmudullah Riyad did not feature in the practice game. Coach Arthur stated he has some selection dilemma with hosts of talent at his disposal.

"Every time I come back here, I see more and more young talent. And that's got to be great for the country. I mean, there's some seriously good cricketers here, which is  fantastic," Arthur told reporters today at Bashundhara Sports City.

Rangpur have failed at final hurdle in the last couple of BPL tournaments and Arthur said that the squad depth with hosts of stars such as Litton Das, Dawid Malan or Kyle Mayers would give them opportunities to focus on matchups for particular opponents.

"It [squad depth] allows us to look at match-ups, it allows us to look at the opposition, it allows us to look at conditions before we select. So we're in a very good position with that. I want to see those foreign players come in and perform. As I want to see the local players come in and perform and understand only that they're only here for one thing and that's performing and us getting wins," Arthur said.