Daily Times

DHAKA: After making his debut in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) earlier this year, David Warner is set for a Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) debut, having signed with Sylhet Sixers. The franchise also snapped up 18-year-old Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane, completing its quota of two direct overseas signings for the 2018-19 BPL. Sylhet also added wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das to their roster from Comilla Victorians in addition to retaining batsmen Sabbir Rahman and Nasir Hossain and Pakistan left-arm quick Sohail Tanvir.

Warner is currently into the seventh month of a one-year ban handed to him by Cricket Australia for his part in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. He was not allowed to play for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, but returned to competitive cricket with a stint with Winnipeg Hawks in the Global T20 Cananda in June and July this year. He subsequently signed with St Lucia Stars in the CPL, but his form wasn’t encouraging. After managing 109 runs in eight innings at a strike-rate of 114.73 in the GLT20, he scored 220 runs in nine innings at a strike-rate of 111.67 in the CPL and found particularly bizarre ways to get out. However, he did hit form, when he struck a 98-ball hundred in Sydney grade cricket against an attack that included Josh Hazlewood. The BPL is scheduled to begin on January 5, 2019, with the draft to be held on October 28 this year. This season, all franchises have been allowed to pick a maximum of two foreign players, who had not played in the 2017-18 BPL.

Published in Daily Times, October 27^th 2018.