Amid the handful of foreign stars featuring in this year's Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), former England batter Alex Hales is definitely one to look at. The hard-hitting opening batter, who recently turned 36, has been roped in by Rangpur Riders for six matches and will be available until the Sylhet phase before heading to Dubai for ILT20. On Sunday, Hales talked to The Daily Star's Samsul Arefin Khan, sharing his experience of playing in different T20 franchise-based tournaments, including this BPL, and the teams that he deems favourite in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. The excerpts of the interview are as follows:

The Daily Star (DS): There were talks of you joining Dhaka Capitals in the BPL. But you are eventually playing for Rangpur Riders. What's the story?

Alex Hales (AH): That's the first time I heard about it. I don't know anything about signing for Dhaka.

DS: You have played for Rangpur before. How's the new stint with the team so far?

AH: I think I played in 2018 for a full season. I loved it and it was really great fun. To get a chance to come back to play for a successful franchise, it's really a great honour.

DS: It's your third time in the BPL. How much are you enjoying?

AH: I like this year's BPL. The wickets in Dhaka were nice. Earlier, sometimes it was slow and low but this time, they had good pitches. I think Sylhet is quite nice as well.

DS: You must be very happy to see your side leading the points table after the Dhaka phase.

AH: I'm here for six games. We won three out of three. I think we bowled really well. Our seamers and spinners have been brilliant. It's a good enough start you can hope for in any competition.

DS: Do you see any changes in this BPL?

AH: There are definitely some better bowlers around. There are some good pace bowlers around now which is great to see. And more and more batters are clearing the ropes and hitting sixes. I think Bangladesh's T20 cricket is heading in the right direction.

DS: You must have played Nahid Rana in the nets. How good is he?

AH: No, no. no. I'm not facing him in the nets. He is too quick for me (laughs). I think I faced him last year when I played for Khulna Tigers [in the nets]. I'm now too old and in the nets, I usually just face throwers.

DS: Do you think you could have given England cricket more service as you decided to retire early?

AH: It was my time. My last game was the World Cup final that we won [in 2022 in Australia]. I wanted to go out on my terms and celebrate the World Cup win. Now I focus on franchise cricket. I've been away from cricket for some time as well to enjoy family time. So I'm happy with my decision.

DS: You have played in almost all franchise-based leagues across the globe. How do you see BPL compared to other franchise leagues?

AH: It's just as good as all the other leagues. It's challenging as an overseas player. You often get challenged a lot by the spinners. There are a lot of skillful spinners here and that's a tough challenge as an overseas player. But the guys are bowling at good pace as well and the pitch is carrying.

DS: There are fewer foreign recruits in BPL this year. Why do you think BPL is not attracting as many foreign stars as other leagues?

AH: I think four tournaments are running at the same time. SA20, ILT20, and Big Bash along with the BPL. There's too much cricket during January-February. So, it's the same for almost all the leagues as they don't have as many overseas players as they wanted. Also, the Champions Trophy is in February, so, the tournaments are being cramped into the calendar during this period. Next year, hopefully, it will be different and there will be lots of foreign players [in BPL], and I want to be one of them.

DS: Regarding Champions Trophy, which teams do you see as favourites?

AH: India are always up there, especially in the sub-continent conditions. Probably India, Australia, and South Africa. No one talks about South Africa but they are always in the final.

DS: Coming back to BPL, you must want similar good wickets [as the Dhaka phase] in Sylhet as well.

AH: I played may be two or three games in Sylhet and it's usually been good pitch to bat on. So hoping for more of the same.