Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens is looking forward to spending the next 6 weeks with the Dhaka Gladiators as they look to retain their BPL crown.

Stevens was part of the Gladiators side that won the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League title last year and he heads back to the sub-continent again this weekend for the six week tournament.

The 36 year old was snapped up by the Gladiators in the auction for the 2013 tournament for $30,000 and will once again look to impress, but told KSN there will be a few new faces to mix with this time around:

“We won it last year and we’ve got a decent side this year. We’ve lost the likes of Azhar Mahmood, Rana Naved and Nazir who was our leading run scorer last year, but we’ve brought in some key players with the likes of Luke Wright, Owais Shah and Dilshan joining.”

“Lasith Malinga was coming, but I believe he’s pulled out, but I think we’ve just signed Alfonso Thomas instead. Being holders, we want to keep our hands on that trophy.”

The Professional Cricketers Association questioned whether it was wise playing in a tournament where some players struggled to get paid last year, but Stevens will head off knowing that shouldn’t be a problem for him:

“I was very fortunate that I got my money within about three weeks of me being home last year. I don’t think we had any problems at the franchise I was at.”

“There is that element of trust and as much as the money is nice, it’s about the experience for me too. I had only been to India on a training camp and hadn’t competed in the sub-continent.”

“Playing in a tournament like that is fantastic and it gives me the chance to have other people around the world to have a look at me.”

Stevens is also hoping an impressive tournament with the Gladiators could lead to more cricket around the world and told KSN he intends to go straight from Bangladesh to Cape Town to play club cricket in South Africa with a view to being picked for their T20 tournament:

“There’s talk of a tournament coming up in Pakistan and that’s something I’d look at doing. I’ve never played out there, but I’d love to and although I know there are fears about safety, speaking to people like Paul Farbrace, he said he’d go out there and coach out there.”

“I’ve also spoken with Azhar Mahmood about it all and it’s on my list of one of the places I’d love to play.”

“I plan to speak with Simon Willis about getting in touch with Graeme Ford over in South Africa and it’d be nice if I can get some cricket out there before the start of the season back here.”

With no cricket under his belt for some months now, Stevens has been trying to keep fitness wise, but admitted the lure of the golf course had been strong and he’d played a good few rounds at Princes near Sandwich over the winter:

“I started back a little bit earlier than most as I thought I’d be going away. I started hitting balls back in November along with working on my fitness with Pete Kelly.”

“We’ve had some good sessions and he’s really good at his job. He makes sure he mixes it up a bit so you don’t get a bit stale.”

“The McGuirk family are all great and Prince’s is such a lovely club. The course is in magnificent nick at the minute and Shaun, a Scottish lad who’s the greenkeeper, is doing a grand job at keeping the greens in immaculate condition.”

“I played there the other day with Benn Barham and Francis McGuirk and it was a good day as Franny and I took down Benn and a friend of his.”

“Princes always make sure they look after us well and I have to say I am loving my golf!”

Log on to KSN in the coming days for the second part of our exclusive interview with Darren Stevens where he talks about Kent’s chances for 2013, James Tredwell taking over as skipper and his hopes for some new faces at the club.