By Neto Baptiste
West Indies all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall is set to turn out for Barishal in next year’s Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) scheduled to run from January 5 to February 16, 2023.
This, after the Antiguan was drafted by the franchise that finished second in the previous edition of the Bangladesh Premier League after they lost to Comilla Victorians by just one run in the final.
Cornwall recently played for the Barbados Royals in the 2022 edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) but the right-hander’s most recent exploits with the bat, where he hit a double century in the Atlanta Open T20 League has certainly turned some heads. The Antiguan’s record-breaking innings was laced with 17 fours and 22 sixes.
Cornwall will be joined by the destructive Chris Gayle in the Barishal line-up.
Gayle played for Barishal in the previous edition of the championship, where he was the second-highest run-scorer for his team. The left-handed batter scored 241 runs from 10 matches at an average of 26.77 and a strike-rate of 112.61 with one half-century and a top score of an unbeaten 52.
Barishal, in the meantime, has retained Shakib Al Hasan as their icon player. Shakib played a crucial role in the previous edition of the BPL. Shakib scored 284 runs from 11 matches at an average of 28.40 and a strike-rate of 144.16 with three half-centuries and a top score of 51 to show for his efforts.