Even though many of the seven teams had already established their squads prior to the draft, yesterday’s player draft for the 10th Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) was conducted with a lot of vigor and enthusiasm at a city hotel. This was despite the fact that many of the franchises had already created their squads.
The signing of Mushfiqur Rahim, who was the only Category A local player with a base price of Tk 80 lac, was the event’s primary draw since he was the only player with such a high price tag. Fortune Barishal, who had already brought on Tamim Iqbal as a straight local signing before to the draft, made the selection of the wicketkeeper-batter.
In addition to selecting Mushfiqur from the draft pool, the Barishal franchise also selected Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taijul Islam, and Dinesh Chandimal. Due to the fact that Barishal had also kept Mahmudullah Riyad and Mehedi Miraz on its roster, the team was loaded with talents from the national team. Their tough lineup includes players like Dunith Wellalage, Paul Sterling, Fakhar Zaman, Shoaib Malik, and Mohammad Amir, all of whom were signed directly from abroad franchises.
Tamim, who was present and active throughout the process of selecting members for the squad, expressed his contentment with the group.
“I do not place a high value on the position of captain. It is my opinion that it would be beneficial for us to have [Mahmudullah] Riyad bhai, Mushfiqur, and Miraz on our side so that we may gain their knowledge. We have a decent balance of young and old members on our team. Tamim informed the media present yesterday at the occasion that the equilibrium is satisfactory.
In the meanwhile, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was not present at the occasion for Sylhet Strikers; instead, direct local signing Najmul Hossain Shanto was there to represent the team. Yasir Ali and Shoriful Islam, a pacer for the national squad, were both selected by the franchise in the draft.
Due to the fact that most of the organizations decided to sign players just before the event, there were no huge international star signings that occurred during the draft. Comilla Victorians, the team who won the previous year’s tournament, strengthened their roster before the draft by making international direct acquisitions for players like as Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, and Rashid Khan. As a straight local signing, the franchise also acquired Tawhid Hridoy, a top player for the national team who was also one of the best players in the previous season of the Bangladesh Premier League.
Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Imrul Kayes, and off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall were all picked up by Comilla without a hitch from the players’ draft. Comilla had made great strides in terms of establishing a brand value by keeping the core of the team together, and this move allowed them to continue their winning streak. Mohammad Salahuddin, the coach of Comilla, said that Windies’ Cornwall was a very nice acquisition for them, and that he contributed to the team’s strong balance. They have previously signed Liton Das and Mustafizur Rahman to new contracts.
Afif Hossain, Kasun Rajitha, and Dashun Shanaka were selected by the Khulna Tigers from the draft. This was another significant move made by the team.
It is interesting to note that when Rangpur Riders were given the opportunity to call first, they chose Rony Talukdar even though Mushfiqur was still available. Shakib Al Hasan, who was also present at the draft, was the straight local signing for the franchise, and they have high hopes that he would lead them to success as captain under his leadership. They also selected Shamim Hossain from the pool of available players.
Rangpur has acquired Babar Azam, Matheesha Pathirana, and Wanindu Hasaranga as straight foreign signings, and they are preparing to field a number of international talents in the 2018 season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).