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Sports Live: It’s a new beginning for Rangpur Riders. The one-time champions of the Bangladesh Premier League, the country’s lone franchise-based T20 tournament, returned to business after a gap but not without taking proper preparation as they managed to have their own home, a promise that all the franchises made earlier but hardly managed to come close to it.

The joy in the face of Riders players and officials were blooming considering the fact they won’t have to take the preparation at the mercy of others as is the case when you are preparing at the BCB Academy premises, where all the franchises have booked their slots for two hours to take preparation.

Nurul Hasan, who will lead Riders in the BPL, looked ecstatic with the prospect of practicing at their own ground.

“We are very excited (to practice on our own ground). Because when we practice in BPL there is one slot for two to three hours and even if you want you cannot practice more than that.

Because it is our own ground we don’t have any time limitation and everyone can practice as per the requirement. This is a big opportunity for us,” Nurul told reporters after their first practice session at their own den.

It certainly seemed to be a big opportunity for the members of the Riders squad considering the fact it is certainly a difficult prospect for any other team to prepare their boys in the center wicket of a ground more so when getting a proper cricket ground in and around Dhaka is not only difficult but next to impossible.

Riders' executive director, Shanian Taneem, said that like the cricketers it was also a dream come true for the owners and management group.

“This field was active from last year and there were matches every weekend. When Rangpur can practice here was a dream of the management and the owners and we are happy that eventually, our dream turned into reality,” said Shanian.

“This year BCB decided to give franchises ownership for three years and this will help the franchise have the courage to develop their own field. In Mirpur, there is a problem of getting slots( for practice) and that is restricted to a specific time as the BCB Academy premises are shared with every team,” he said.

“Having your own field for practice is important. Like, say we have prepared three wickets that will help us to adapt with wickets of Chattogram, Sylhet, and Dhaka. I think every team will be inspired by seeing us and we feel within three years other teams will also have their own ground,” he added.

Home of the Riders is situated in Bashundhara Sports Complex just beside Basundhara Kings Arena in the Basundhara Residential Area.

Nets are being prepared just beside the ground while other facilities required to prepare any professional cricket team are in place to make sure Riders gears up for the tournament with all their guns blazing.

Journey of a new dream: Bashundhara Sports Complex now Home of the Riders