Rangpur [Bangladesh], June 29 (ANI): Former Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur will be in charge of Rangpur Riders' Global Super League title defence next month, despite not being present in Guyana, the tournament's venue.

Arthur will be with Derbyshire but will continue to work on his job with Rangpur remotely, according to the Riders' team director, Shanian Taneem. Ranpur will return to defend their title in the second season of the GSL, which is scheduled to kick off on July 10.

The other teams participating in the tournament include the Dubai Capitals, Central Stags, Guyana Amazon Warriors, and Hobart Hurricanes. Arthur served as Rangpur's head coach in the inaugural edition of the GSL.

With Arthur working remotely, Greg Smith has been appointed as the head coach to oversee the team. Shanian confirmed that Smith will work under Arthur's guidance.

'As the English County Championship is ongoing and Mickey is coaching Derbyshire County Cricket Club, he is unavailable at the moment. Therefore, we are appointing Greg Smith as our head coach. He is someone Mickey fully trusts. Mickey will stay connected with the players and continue to offer his input. Greg will lead the team under Mickey's guidance,' Shanian said during a jersey unveiling ceremony in Dhaka, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

'Mickey Arthur was our head coach during the previous Global Super League and the last edition of the Bangladesh Premier League. We have strong confidence in his abilities. While forming our squad, we remained in constant touch with him and discussed which players would perform well on Guyana's pitches,' Shanian added.

Nurul Hasan will continue to lead the Rangpur Riders, a position he has held since 2023. Rangpur has retained Soumya Sarkar, Saif Hassan, Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Harmeet Singh from their 2024 squad. West Indies batter Kyle Mayers, South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, Pakistan all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed and Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran make up Rangpur's overseas contingent.

Shakib Al Hasan was not picked by the Riders, even though the tournament is being held in the West Indies. Shakib, a former Awami League MP, has not visited Bangladesh since the fall of the Awami League government last year.

'Shakib Al Hasan is still one of the most valuable players not only in Bangladesh but in any franchise league of the world. It is not that we did not want him in the squad, but we know the situation of the country at this moment. Shakib still can feature in the starting eleven of any franchise team. But keeping the current situation in mind, we were not able to take him in the squad,' Shanian said on Shakib's omission.

Rangpur Riders squad: Nurul Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mahidul Islam, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mohammad Saif, Abu Hider, Rakilbul Hasan, Yasir Ali, Kyle Mayers, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ibrahim Zadran, Akif Javed, Iftikhar Ahmed, Harmeet Singh, Khawaja Nafay. (ANI)