BPL 2018-19: Mohammad Ashraful joins Chittagong Vikings after fixing ban ends

The big name among the local picks, qualified in August this year to take part in the tournament after serving a five-year-ban due to his involvement in match fixing

In the upcoming edition of the Bangladesh Premier League, former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful has been picked by Chittagong Vikings. The big name among the local picks, qualified in August this year to take part in the tournament after serving a five-year-ban due to his involvement in match fixing.

Even after the ban, the Bangladesh Cricket Board allowed the 33-year-old to take part in the domestic first-class and List A cricket. In the Dhaka Premier League 2017-18, Ashraful smashed five centuries in 13 matches to amass 665 runs at an average of 66.50.

While Chittagong has a star studded lineup with the likes of Sikandar Raza, Luke Ronchi, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Shahzad, Mosaddek Hossain, Cameron Delport and Dasun Shanaka, Ashraful's solid experience will come handy in the middle-order.

Ashraful has played 61 Tests, 177 One-Day Internationals and 23 Twenty20 Internationals for his country, scoring 2737, 3468 and 450 runs respectively.

Apart from Ashraful, veteran batsman AB de Villiers is also set to come out of his retirement after Rangpur Riders confirmed signing him up recently retired for the BPL 2018-19 as their second signing outside the player draft.

Riders seem to have a strong batting line-up with players like Alex Hales and Chris Gayle. The franchise along with retaining Gayle after his fireworks in the last year's final, also signed Alex Hales as their first signing outside the draft.

Chittagong Vikings: Sunzamul Islam, Sikandar Raza, Luke Ronchi, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Shahzad, Robbie Frylinck, Mosaddek Hossain, Abu Jayed, Khaled Ahmed, Nayeem Hasan, Cameron Delport, Dasun Shanaka, Mohammad Ashraful, Robiul Haque, Yasir Ali, Nihaduzzaman, Najibullah Zadran, Shadman Islam