Leg-spin twins: Rishad returns to join Zampa at Hurricanes

After landing Australia white-ball spinner Adam Zampa last month, Hobart Hurricanes have doubled down on their leg-spin bowling stocks by securing Bangladesh international Rishad Hossain for another Big Bash campaign.

Rishad, who played 12 games for the Hurricanes last summer, has signed a one-year deal with Hobart and is available for the first eight games of KFC BBL|16.

The 24-year-old was the side's leading wicket-taker in BBL|15, taking 15 wickets throughout his debut season.

The campaign earned Rishad the club's BBL player of the year award and left Hurricanes general manager Salliann Beams determined to bring him back to the Apple Isle.

"Rishad made it really clear to us that he loved his time in Hobart last season and wanted to come back, and that certainly meant a lot to us," Beams said in a statement.

"Our list had taken a slightly different shape with the addition of Adam Zampa, but when a player of Rishad's quality is so determined to return to the Hurricanes, we wanted to explore every opportunity to make that happen.

"He was outstanding for us last season. To come into the Big Bash for the first time, play every game and finish as our leading wicket-taker showed the quality he has and how quickly he adapted to Australian conditions."

Between him and Zampa, the Hurricanes' spin twins have collected 560 wickets in the T20 format, with 235 of them coming in internationals.

It's a combination Beams believes will be the envy of competition given the contrasting styles of each leggie.

"We now have two high-quality leg-spinners who bring different strengths and give us some really exciting options depending on conditions and match-ups," Beams said.

"Adam has been one of the outstanding white-ball bowlers in world cricket for a long period of time, while we saw last summer just how dangerous Rishad can be through the middle overs.

"To have both of them as part of our squad gives us enormous flexibility and adds another dimension to our bowling attack."

Rishad first signed with the Hurricanes when the organisation selected him in the now scrapped overseas player draft ahead of BBL|14.

He didn't feature in that Big Bash season due to Bangladesh Premier League commitments, but the Rangpur Rangers product became a fan-favourite for Hurricanes supporters during his maiden BBL campaign.

Rishad was the first player from Bangladesh to play in the BBL in over ten years last December, following in the footsteps of national icon Shakib Al Hasan.

Since then he's had a second stint in the Pakistan Super League, this time with Rawalpindiz, before representing Bangladesh in T20I series against New Zealand, Australia and Zimbabwe prior to the Asian Games.

The Hurricanes have now signed 17 of a maximum 18 players allocated to a club's men's squad.

Hobart Hurricanes's BBL|16 squad (so far)

Head coach: Jeff Vaughan

 

Contracted for BBL|16: Marcus Bean (BBL|16), Iain Carlisle (BBL|16), Nikhil Chaudhary (BBL|17), Tim David (BBL|16), Nathan Ellis (BBL|17), Nick Hobson (BBL|17), Shai Hope (BBL|16), Rishad Hossain (BBL|16), Ben McDermott (BBL|17), Riley Meredith (BBL|17), Mitch Owen (BBL|17), Will Prestwidge (BBL|17), Billy Stanlake (BBL|16), Tim Ward (BBL|16), Jake Weatherald (BBL|16), Beau Webster (BBL|17), Adam Zampa (BBL|17)

 

Uncontracted: Rehan Ahmed (England), Jackson Bird, Hugo Burdon, Charlie Wakim, Mac Wright

Despite losing England allrounder Chris Jordan to Sydney Sixers and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, who announced his retirement from domestic cricket last month, the club have added West Indies white-ball captain Shai Hope in a significant coup for BBL|14 champions.

Hope and Rishad are currently the team's only overseas recruits for the upcoming season, with Big Bash clubs no longer required to sign a minimum of three international players.