Maverick all-rounder Shakib al Hasan was at the centre of all the attention as the players' draft for the upcoming third edition of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 was held at the Radisson hotel in the capital yesterday.
The left-arm all-rounder was roped in by Rangpur Riders as the side's icon cricketer.
Including Shakib, a total of 63 local cricketers and 19 foreigners were sold in the players' by choice, also known as the players' draft.
The most attractive segment of the draft was the lottery of the six icon cricketers. And it was Rangpur who were the luckiest as they purchased Shakib after being drawn first in the lottery.
Then, Comilla Victorians called for ODI and T20 skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Barisal Bulls bought Mahmudullah, Chittagong went for national opening batsman and local lad Tamim Iqbal, Sylhet Super Stars recruited Tigers' Test captain Mushfiqur Rahim and Dhaka Dynamites acquired all-rounder Nasir Hossain.
With the exception of Comilla, all the franchises seemed happy with what they got. It is understood that the Comilla franchise had originally wanted Shakib but the luck of the lottery deserted them. Comilla's owner, Nafisa Kamal, who previously owned the Sylhet franchise, cut a frustrated figure in the draft and according to witnesses, rushed out of the venue once the programme came to an end.
Balancing a team in a draft is a big challenge for even the best strategists in the world. As said by Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan, the system is not even preferred by the board. However, in order to minimise the bitter experiences of the recent past, including irregular payment of the players, the board decided to put a ceiling on the players' salary.
Rangpur, who got to call first as many as four times, are being said to be the most balanced side among the six franchises.
Besides Shakib, Rangpur have also bought Soumya Sarkar, Arafat Sunny, Mohammad Mithun, Muktar Ali, Saqlain Sojib, Jahurul Islam. As far as the foreign cricketers are concerned, Rangpur purchased Lendl Simmons, Darren Sammy, Thisara Perera and Wahab Riaz.
The franchise were also reported to have claimed Sri Lanka opener TM Dilshan but there is a slight dispute with regards to his services as the Chittagong owners said they have also signed the right-handed batsman. The decision is being looked after by the BPL governing council and is likely to be resolved by today.
The money-spinning BPL is well and truly in the spotlight after a two-year hiatus following spot- and match-fixing scandals in the second edition of the tournament in 2013.
The much-awaited domestic T20 competition of the country is scheduled to begin on November 22 with the opening ceremony scheduled to take place two days earlier at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
