Gemcon Khulna has named all-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad as their captain for the upcoming Bangabandhu T20 Cup and the all-rounder will be leading the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Imrul Kayes and Shafiul Islam in the five-team tournament, scheduled to begin from November 24. 

Khulna decided to go with Mahmudullah at the helm despite having premier all-rounder Shakib, who has courted a number of controversies since his arrival in the country from the US earlier this month for the first time since his year-long ban ended, in their squad.  

"We are delighted to be participating in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup with Gemcon Khulna. We are really excited to have both Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan in our team this year. Mahmudullah Riyad, the Bangladesh national T20I captain will be leading the Gemcon Khulna team as captain. He has previously led the Khulna Titans for three seasons with many successes in Bangladesh Premier League T20. We look forward to playing positive cricket with the goal to be champions in this prestigious tournament," Kazi Inam Ahmed, Managing Director of Gemcon Sports, was quoted as saying in a press release. 

"I think we have a fantastic balance in the squad. Bowling wise we have a beautiful attack with Shafiul Islam, Al Amin Hossain and young Hasan Mahmud who are very much capable and we have seen that over the years. Shakib Al Hasan and Rishad Hossain are also there to add variety to the attack. In batting department we have experienced campaigners in shape of Anamul Haque, Imrul Kayes, Shakib, Jahurul Islam and myself.I think we as team Gemcon Khulna have a wonderful chance to win in the journey ahead," Mahmudullah was quoted as saying. 

Mahmudullah missed out on playing in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) playoffs due to testing coronavirus positive on November 6 and in the subsequent test too. The all-rounder returned a negative Covid-19 test on Monday and will soon be returning to training.