Gidron Pope selected for Bangladesh Premier League Franchise

Vincentian Gidron Pope has been selected for the Rangpur Riders, one of the Bangladesh Premier League’s franchises for the 2016/2017 edition.

Pope, 19, was part of the draft which took place last Friday. A left-handed explosive opening batsman, Pope was one of the top performers for the West Indies Under-19 team, which lifted the ICC World Cup for the first time in Bangladesh in February of this year.{{more}}

He impressed scouts there with his big-hitting abilities, as he scored 232 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 107.9.

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT on Sunday, Pope said, “It is a good feeling to be among some of the best players in the world and am looking forward to have a good tournament and knowing the conditions is a plus for me.”

Also part the Rangpur Riders’ line-up is Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi.

Pope has limited experience playing Franchise Cricket, having only played three matches in the Caribbean Premier League last July/August for the St Lucia Zouks.

He, however, lashed a belligerent 62 for the CPL Eleven against a USA Eleven when the CPL touched down in Lauderhill, Florida for a series of matches.

Pope will join 13 other West Indian players who have been selected for this the fourth edition of the BPL, which runs from November 4 to December 9.

Barisal Bulls take Carlos Brathwaite, while the Chittagong Vikings earn the skills of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith and defending champions Comilla Victorians get rookie player Rovman Powell, as well as Jason Holder.

Going the way of the Dhaka Dynamites are Evin Lewis, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, while Khulna Titans snapped up another rookie player Nicholas Pooran, along with seasoned players Kevon Cooper, Lendl Simmons, Andre Fletcher, with Rajshahi Kings employing Darren Sammy.

West Indies accounted for the biggest chunk of the foreign players rostered among the seven franchises.

The salary for foreign players, ranges from US$30 000 to $70 000.(RT)