![Rangpur Riders have officially announced their head coach [Source: AFP]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1765087785514_Mickey_arthur.jpg?type=hq)
Rangpur Riders have officially announced their head coach [Source: AFP]
With the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2026 coming up, the Rangpur Riders have officially announced their head coach, and once again, it will be Mickey Arthur. The team has chosen to continue with the experienced South Africa coach for the next season of the tournament, which starts on December 26 in Sylhet.
Arthur, now 57, also coached Rangpur in the last BPL season and guided them in the 2024 Global Super League. He confirmed his return through a video message on Saturday. In the message, he said he was excited to come back and work with the team again.
Mickey Arthur expresses love for Rangpur fans
The former Pakistan head coach also mentioned how much he appreciated the support from Bangladesh fans and said he is looking forward to meeting everyone soon.
"I will be coaching you in this year's BPL like I did last year and the GSL that we won a couple of years ago. I can't wait to come back to Bangladesh and work with a very good squad. The support from the fans was fantastic and I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again," he said.
Notably, this year’s BPL comes after plenty of drama off the field, and six teams will take part in the competition. During the players’ auction, Rangpur Riders made some big moves. They bought young star Towhid Hridoy for Tk 92 lakh and Litton Das for Tk 70 lakh.
The team also picked Pakistan players Sufiyan Muqeem and Khawaja Nafay as part of their overseas signings.
In the auction, Rangpur grabbed two more overseas players, Italy’s Emilio Gay and Pakistan’s Mohammad Akhlaq. Among the local players, they secured well-known names such as Mahmudullah Riyad.
Even before the auction, Rangpur had already signed wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan Sohan and left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman directly.
To strengthen the squad further, the Riders added several high-profile foreign players after the auction. These include England’s Dawid Malan, West Indies all-rounder Kyle Mayers, and Pakistan’s Faheem Ashraf and Iftikhar Ahmed.
Mickey Arthur will be only the second foreign head coach in this year’s BPL. Dhaka Capitals have already appointed Toby Radford as their head coach, with former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar working as their team mentor.
