Comilla Victorians will miss Mashrafe Mortaza's services in BPL 5

Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Mortaza has decided to end his campaign with Comilla Victorians ahead of the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season 5. The fast bowler has led the side in the previous two seasons including a winning season in 2015. Mashrafe will join the Rangpur Riders as an icon player for the tournament.

Meanwhile, the Victorians have signed up a new icon player Tamim Iqbal for the upcoming season. Tamim who led the Chittagong Vikings in the previous two editions will lead Victorians in 2017. BPL season 5 kicks off on November 2 with a grand opening ceremony followed by the fixtures on November 4.

Mashrafe will be missed

The 33-year-old captain has had an incredible journey with the team. He was the star player and the most important member of the Victorians side. The team officials and owners admitted to the fact that the captain’s services will be missed a lot as he was very inspiring and guided the talent in the team to achieve success.

“There is no replacement for Mashrafe, there cannot be. We will miss him among us because of professional changes in the team but we will always remember him fondly and respectfully. We are grateful to him for helping the team win BPL 2015 and we wish him a successful journey ahead in the BPL. All the best for our first captain from the Victorians,” the team wrote on the social media.

Mortaza was the captain of the Comilla based franchise when they achieved the glory. He didn’t have a particularly good time in 2016, which resulted in the end of his term with the franchise.

New Signings

Apart from the signing of Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal, the franchise has added many new names. Which includes international stars like Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan, New Zealander Colin Munro, former Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews and Hasan Ali of Pakistan. While retaining many of their talented players including the likes of Imrul Kayes, Liton Das and Mohammad Saifuddin.