Mickey Arthur will oversee Rangpur Riders’ title defence in the 2025 Global Super League from a virtual perspective. Rangpur’s director, Shanian Taneem, has announced that Arthur will not be present in Guyana for the full competition.

The reason for this is his coaching contract with Derbyshire in Division Two of the current County Championship, which requires him to stay behind and coach the BPL franchise from 7500 km away. The GSL will begin on July 10, with Rangpur playing their second match of the season. Central Stags (Super Smash), Dubai Capitals (ILT20), Guyana Amazon Warriors (CPL), and Hobart Hurricanes (BBL) will all compete in the 20-over tournament.

During a jersey revealing ceremony in Dhaka, Shanian announced that Greg Smith will work with the team in person, with Mickey being in close contact with Greg and the players.

“Mickey is now unavailable due to the ongoing English County Championship and his coaching duties with Derbyshire County Cricket Club. As a result, we have appointed Greg Smith as our head coach. He is someone Mickey completely trusts. Mickey will continue to communicate with the gamers and provide feedback. “Greg will lead the team under Mickey’s guidance,” said Shanian.

Shanian also stated that Mickey Arthur consulted with the management when forming the team and unit strategy in preparation for the event.

“Mickey Arthur was our head coach in the previous Global Super League and the last Bangladesh Premier League. We are confident in his talents. While putting together our roster, we kept in touch with him and talked about which players would thrive on Guyana’s pitches,” Shanian added.

Rangpur will be led by Nurul Hasan, who has been the team’s captain since 2023. Soumya Sarkar, Saif Hassan, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, and Harmeet Singh will all be retained from the 2024 squad. The overseas contingent includes Kyle Mayers, Tabraiz Shamsi, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Ibrahim Zadran.