Mash leaves Comilla

Bangladesh's inspirational ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza has ended his tenure with Comilla Victorians and will join Rangpur Riders ahead of the fifth edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

It is however not all bad news for Comilla, as Chittagong Vikings skipper and star Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal has joined the 2015 BPL champions as their icon player for the new season.

Mashrafe worked his magic in 2015, when he led the debutant franchise to a rousing title win, but neither franchise nor the captain could keep up that form in 2016 when the Victorians finished sixth in the seven-team table.

The 2017 edition allows the icon players to choose their franchises, and with reports that all was not well between Mashrafe and the franchise owners, the Narail Express has opted to leave. The Comilla Victorians have said via a facebook post that Mashrafe's presence will be missed.

“There is no replacement for Mashrafe, there cannot be,” the post said.

 “We will miss him among us because of professional changes in the team but we will always remember him fondly and respectfully.”

The franchise have retained Imrul Kayes, Liton Das and Mohammad Saifuddin in the team.