Bangladesh senior players Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal are set to represent new teams in the next edition of the Bangladesh Premier League, the auction of which shall be held on Sunday. Shakib is set to return to Rangpur Riders after having opted to leave the Fortune Barisal franchise. He will be replaced by fellow veteran Tamim Iqbal who makes the switch from Khulna Tigers.
Notable global superstars like Rashid Khan, WaninduHasaranga and Babar Azam are among the 443 overseas players who'll go under the hammer in the auction. The BPL governing council has put up 203 local players in the players draft for the upcoming season and it has been divided into six categories. Mushfiqur Rahim is the only player in A category that is worth BDT 80 Lakhs.
There are four cricketers in B category (BDT 50 Lakh), 18 players in C category (BDT 30 Lakh), 31 cricketers in D category (BDT 20 Lakh), 75 cricketers in E category (BDT 15 Lakh), 29 players in F category (BDT 10 Lakh) and 45 cricketers in G category (BDT 5 Lakhs).
It is interesting to see Soumya Sarkar placed in D category though he is considered as forthcoming World Cup probable and included in the Bangladesh ODI squad for the ongoing home series against New Zealand and also made a cut in the playing XI for the series opener that was washed away due to rain.
Former Bangladesh all-rounder Nasir Hossain, who captained the Dhaka franchise last season, isn't part of the domestic player draft. Earlier this week, he was among the eight people charged for corruption by the ICC in the Abu Dhabi T10 League. As the investigation is still in progress, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided against including him in the draft.
The three charges on Nasir were - failing to disclose to the DACO receipt of a gift worth over $750, failing to disclose to the DACO full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in Corrupt Conduct under the Code and failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the DACO in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code.
"We have not included him in the BPL players draft as there is corruption charge against him and he cannot take part in any domestic tournament( in Bangladesh) unless he is cleared from it," said a member of the selection panel regarding Nasir, who last played for Bangladesh back in 2017.