Pont, Rafique team up for Gladiators

Dhaka Gladiators' icon player Mohammad Ashraful (L) poses with the coaching staff and the owners during the launching ceremony at a local hotel yesterday.Photo: STAR

Former national cricketer Moha-mmad Rafique will be among a strong six-member coaching staff of the Dhaka Gladiators for the first season of the Bangladesh Premier League.
Rafique will be the bowling coach and is set to work under Ian Pont, who was the Bangladesh bowling coach till the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The other members are Shafiqul Haque (former Tigers' team operations manager), physio Vibabh Singh and trainer Grant Luden. Habibul Bashar, one of the three national selectors, will act as the team's consultant.
All this was revealed during a ceremony held at a local hotel yesterday, where the Gladiators' logo was also unveiled.
The team's icon cricketer Mohammad Ashraful, the former national captain, was present at the occasion alongside Europa Group managing director Salim Chowdhury and team owners Shihab Chowdhury and Tisham Chowdhury.
To add a bit of glamour to the team, actress Afsan Ara Bindu was also introduced as the team ambassador.