Riyad set to lead Gemcon Khulna in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup

All-rounder Mahmudullah Riyad will be leading Gemcon Khulna in the upcoming Bangabandhu T20 Cup starting from November 24. Despite having Shakib Al Hasan in the team, who had lost his T20 captaincy to Riyad last year after he was banned by ICC for a year, Khulna management opted for Riyad for the captaincy. 
Mahmudullah Riyad previously captained Khulna Titans in the BPL T20 in three seasons and is now set to lead them once again. There was, however, confusion as to who would be preferred between Shakib and Riyad for captaincy. 
Mahmudullah Riyad tested positive for Covid-19 back on November 06 and was a doubt when he would be able to play. This played in the minds of Minister Rajshahi, who opted for all-rounder Saifuddin in their first call in the players' draft ignoring Riyad, who was in category A. 
Gemcon Khulna management waited till today to announce their skipper as he tested negative for Covid-19. 
Kazi Inam Ahmed, Managing Director of Gemcon Sports speaking on the occasion said they are really happy and excited to have both Shakib and Riyad in their team. 
"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 said. 
Riyad, on the other hand, was delighted to be back in Gemcon Sports and lead the team. 
"I was tested Covid-19 negative yesterday so I am excited to be back on the field soon. I would like to thank Gemcon Khulna owner Kazi Inam Ahmed and the management team for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to lead Gemcon Khulna in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup. My association with Gemcon has been for a long time now having played with Khulna Titans in Bangladesh Premier League T20 for three years. So it is always good to be back with them as I feel it is my home team," said the skipper. 
Gemcon Khulna will start the tournament campaign taking on Fortune Barishal in the evening game on the opening day of the tournament.