Laurie Evans selected for Bangladesh Premier League

Sussex Sharks’ batsman Laurie Evans - the leading run-scorer in the 2018 Vitality Blast – has been drafted by Rajshahi Kings for the sixth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League that takes place early next year.

Laurie was picked up by the Kings in the first round of foreign player picks in Sunday’s draft alongside Sri Lankan all-rounder Isuru Udana. Other players picked up in the same round include Ian Bell (Dhaka Dynamites), Ravi Bopara (Rangpur Riders) Shahid Afridi and Thisara Perera (Comilla Victorians), Mohammad Irfan (Sylhet Sixers) and Cameron Delport (Chittagong Vikings).

Up to 366 foreign players had put themselves forward for the draft, a record number for the BPL. Amongst the biggest names selected during the further two rounds of foreign picks were Lasith Malinga, Yasir Shah and Brendan Taylor (Khulna Titans), Andre Fletcher (Sylhet Sixers) and Mohammad Sami (Rajshahi Kings).

Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Alex Hales (Rangpur Riders), Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell and Hazratullah Zazai (Dhaka Dynamites), David Warner (Sylhet Sixers), Carlos Braithwaite and Dawid Malan (Khulna Titans), Shoaib Malik and Liam Dawson (Comilla Victorians), Christiaan Jonker (Rajshahi Kings), Luke Ronchi, Mohammad Shahzad and Najibullah Shahzad were amongst the overseas players already selected for the tournament ahead of the draft.

Next year’s BPL will feature both the 2018 Vitality Blast’s leading run scorer and leading wicket-taker after Worcestershire’s Pat Brown was drafted by Sylhet Sixers in the third and final round of foreign player picks.

The BPL has provided something of a springboard for up and coming players in recent years, including for Laurie’s Sussex teammate Jofra Archer.

The previous edition of the tournament in November and December 2017 was Jofra’s first overseas T20 tournament and he would go on to play and star in Australia’s Big Bash League and the Indian Premier League later in the winter.

In 2018 to date, Laurie is the 13th leading run scorer in T20s across the world, the second leading English run-scorer and has the highest average of any player who has played a minimum of ten innings.

You can watch an interview with Laurie following his return from the inaugural Afghanistan Premier League below.