The players by choice draft of the Bangladesh Premier League season 3 will be held at a city hotel in Dhaka today. Initially the process, also known as the players’ draft, was scheduled for this Monday but was later brought forward to today.
The six franchises – Dhaka Dynamites, Chittagong Vikings, Comilla Victorians, Barisal Bulls, Rangpur Riders and Sylhet Super Stars – will battle it out in the behind-the-doors players’ draft and pick their squad from a list of 123 local and 196 foreign cricketers.
It is mandatory for each side to pick at least 11 local players, including the icon cricketer, and three foreign cricketers from the draft. The decision to put the icon players – Shakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah and Mashrafe bin Mortaza – up for lottery came after a discussion between the BPL governing council and the franchises.
Although the BPL governing council had initially thought of placing the icons through a mutual discussion with the players and the franchises, all parties did not agree.
The icon cricketers' destination therefore, will now depend on a piece of paper inside a lottery bowl. Meanwhile, all the teams have already secured at least four foreign cricketers of their choice and are eagerly waiting to see how the draft unfolds today.
