Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful informed that he will not auction his bat at the moment due to fake bidding in recent times.
Many sports personalities including Shakib al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim, among others from the cricket arena, have come forward and put their favorite bats up for auction to help raise funds amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shakib’s bat that he used during the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales was sold for Tk20 lakhs in an auction, “Auction 4 Action”, last month.
Ashraful also wanted to auction his bat, which he used to score a match-winning hundred against Australia in Cardiff in 2005.
Mushfiq declared to auction his bat that he used to score a double century against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh’s first ever in Tests.
Mushfiq’s bat auction though has been put on hold after cases of fake bidding recently.
@BCBtigers wicketkeeper-batsman @mushfiqur15's bat auction has been put on hold due to cases of fake bidding, said the organizers of the auction Monday.https://t.co/ULCksH8IdW#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #BANGLADESHCRICKET #MUSHFIQ #MUSHFIQUR #MUSHFIQURRAHIM
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) May 12, 2020
After seeing that, Ashraful, who was supposed to put his bat up for auction on May 11, has decided not to participate in the auction right now.
"The auction process is not clear to me. I saw a lot of contradictory things happening in the case of Mushfiq's bat. There is no point in auctioning off such a valuable memento if there is so much contradiction. Its main purpose is to get as much money to help people as much as possible. The way the auction is going on in our country, I don't want to give the bat anymore," said Ashraful.
It was learnt that Ashraful and the organizers did not agree on the terms of setting the base price.
Ashraful said there is no point setting the price low if he can’t spend the money for the welfare of the people.
"What’s the point of lowering the base price? If I have to sell it for such a lower price, I am already spending that much money for the welfare of the people. Many may think badly about me for coming back after giving an announcement. But the culture of auction has not developed that way in our country. If the culture of auction gets better then I will give it. Hopefully it will improve gradually," Ashraful concluded.