BPL 2019: Mohammad Hafeez set to play for Rajshahi Kings

Veteran Pakistan batting all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has been roped in by Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Rajshahi Kings in the upcoming season. The 38-year-old batsman who retired from Test cricket following the recent series at home against New Zealand will play five matches at the beginning of the Bangladesh league before joining the Pakistan national side for the limited-overs series in South Africa.

Rajshahi Kings will kick off their BPL campaign against Dhaka Dynamites on January 5 while their fifth game will be against the Khulna Titans in Sylhet on January 15. The addition of Hafeez, a seasoned player in the T20 format with an experience of 252 games under his belt, will boost the Kings’ chances to win their maiden title in the BPL.

Coached by former South Africa all-rounder Lance Klusener, the Kings’ best performance in the BPL was finishing as the runners-up in the 2016 edition when they lost to the Dynamites in the final. The Kings were happy to get Hafeez on board. “We have signed Hafeez as we needed a right-handed batsman at the top,” Cricbuzz quoted the team’s chief executive Tahmeed Huq as saying.

“We are expecting to have him for the first five matches. Later, he will join the Pakistan squad for the series against South Africa. We are confident that his vast experience will be invaluable for us,” he added.

Hafeez has over 5,000 runs and 150 wickets in 252 T20s

Hafeez, who has scored over 11,000 international runs and over 5,300 runs in T20s, will be playing in the BPL for the first time. He was roped in by Comilla Victorians last year but missed the tournament to work on his bowling action which was under the scanner.

The batsman, who has a strike rate of over 122 in T20s, will join the likes of Mominul Haque, Fazle Rabbi, Soumya Sarkar and others in the Kings. Hafeez is also a handy off-break bowler with 159 scalps in T20s that make him an added asset for his franchise.

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