Dhaka form strong squad in players' draft

The draft of Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2019 has ended as teams have been confirmed. Seven teams are participating in this special edition of BPL, where there are no franchises and is being overseen completely by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

Dhaka Platoon have made up a strong squad whereas it looked like that Sylhet came out with a comparatively weak team. 

Despite being in the A+ category, Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza had to wait till the fourth round to be picked up by Dhaka Platoon.  Mushfiqur Rahim was picked up by Khulna with Tamim Iqbal being picked by Dhaka. Mahmudullah Riyad was picked up by Chattogram with Mashrafe Mortaza being not picked.

Along with Tamim, Dhaka picked up Anamul Haque whereas Khulna picked Shafiul Islam as their second pick. Chattogram has picked Imrul Kayes as their second pick with Mahmudullah. Sylhet has picked up Mosaddek Hossain and Mohammad Mithun, with Cumilla picking up Soumya Sarkar and Al-Amin Hossain. Rajshahi has picked up Liton Das and Afif Hossain whereas Rangpur has gone with Mustafizur Rahman and Naim Sheikh. 

In the first round for foreign players, Chattogram Challengers picked up global superstar Chris Gayle. Ravi Bopara was picked up by Rajshahi with Rangpur picking up Afghan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi. Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsman Kusal Perera was picked up Cumilla whereas Khulna picked up Rilee Rossouw. Thisara Perera was picked up by Dhaka with Sylhet picking up Sherfane Rutherford. 

Sylhet in the second call picked up Shafiqullah Shafaq from Afghanistan with Dhaka picking up Laurie Evans from England. Khulna picked up Robbie Frylinck with Afghan off-spinner Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman being picked up by Cumilla. West Indian batsman Shai Hope was picked up by Rangpur whereas Rajshahi picked up Hazratullah Zazai and Chattogram picking up Kesrick Williams.

Rangpur in the second round for local players picked Arafat Sunny and Jahurul Islam whereas Cumilla picked Yasir Ali Chowdhury and Sabbir Rahman. Dhaka has picked Hasan Mahmud and Mehedi Hassan with Sylhet picking Nazmul Islam Apu and Shohagh Gazi. Khulna has picked Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Aminul Islam Biplob with Abu Jayed Rahi and Farhad Reza being picked by Rajshahi. Chattogram picked up Nasir Hossain and Rubel Hossain. 

In the third round for local players, Chattogram Challengers picked up Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan and Enamul Haque Jr. Cumilla picked up Sunzamul Islam and Abu Hider Rony whereas Khulna picked up Saif Hassan and Shamsur Rahman. Rangpur picked up Taskin Ahmed and wicket-keeper batsman Zakir Hasan with Dhaka picking up Bangladesh Test captain Mominul Haque and Ariful Haque. Rajshahi picked up Taijul Islam and Alok Kapali with Sylhet picking up Rony Talukdar and Nayeem Hassan. 

Mashrafe Mortaza was finally picked in the fourth round by Mashrafe Mortaza by Dhaka. Sylhet picked up Delwar Hossain and Monir Hossain. Rajshahi picked up Irfan Shukkur and Kamrul Rabbi whereas Rangpur picked up Fazle Mahmud and Nadif Chowdhury. Dhaka's other pick was Shuvagata Hom with Cumilla picking up Mahidul Islam Ankon and Sumon Khan. Chattogram picked up Muktar Ali and Pinak Ghosh whereas Khulna picked up Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shahidul Islam. 

In the second round for the foreign players, Rajshahi and Dhaka both picked up two Pakistanis as Rajshahi picked Mohammad Newaz and Mohammad Irfan whereas Dhaka picked up Wahab Riaz and Asif Ali. Rangpur Rangers picked up Luis Gregory and Cameron Delport with Sylhet picking Naveen-ul-Haq and Johnson Charles. Khulna picked up Mohammad Aamir and Najibullah Zadran with Cumilla picking up Dawid Malan and Dasun Shanaka whereas Chattogram Challengers picked up Avishka Fernando and Ryan Emrit. 

In the next round for local players, Sylhet picked only one player in Rubel Mia with passing up the opportunity to sign two players. Khulna Tigers picked up Allis Al Islam and Tanvir Islam whereas Dhaka Platoon picked up Raqibul Hasan and Jaker Ali. Chattogram Challengers picked up Masum Ahmed and veteran Junaid Siddiqui whereas Rajshahi picked up Minhajul Abedin Afridi and Nahidul Islam. Rangpur Rangers and Cumilla Warriors both also decided to pick up only one player instead of two as they picked Sanjit Saha and Fardin Hossain Ani respectively. 

In the final round for the foreign players, all of Rangpur Rangers, Rajshahi Royals and Cumilla Warriors passed up their opportunity to sign any player. Dhaka Platoon picked up Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi and English Luis Reece whereas Chattogram Challengers picked up Ryan Burl and Imad Wasim. Sylhet Thunder and Khulna Tigers picked up one player from the last round in Jeevan Mendis and Rahmanullah Gurbaz with passing up the opportunity to sign another player. It was another big surprise that Shahid Afridi, a player from the A+ category was picked up in the last round.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan at the beginning of the program said that the honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the Bangabandhu BPL T20 on the 8th of December.

The BCB President added that the BCB are looking at this BPL as a chance to find out new talents as the T20 World Cup in Australia next year is knocking at the door.

Also, he (Nazmul) said that the BCB has appointed a director for every team to oversee the teams. 

181 local players have been included in the draft along with 439 overseas players. Each team will be able to pick 15 to 19 players for their squad, with nine to 11 local and six to eight overseas players.

Four local players – Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad - have been included in the A+ category. 11 foreign players have been included in the A+ category with Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi being the standouts among them.

Local A+ category players have been priced 50 lac taka, with the A category players being priced at 25 lac taka. The B, C, D and E category local players are priced at respectively 18, 12, 8 and 5 lac taka respectively.

Foreign A+ category players have been priced 1 lac USD, with the A category players being priced at 70,000 USD. The B, C and D category foreign players are priced at respectively 50,000, 30,000 and 20,000 USD respectively.

Shoaib Malik from Pakistan and the local player Qazi Anik has been removed from the players' list.