Icon cricketers included in BPL players' draft

The Bangladesh Premier League governing council has decided to include the six icon cricketers in the players' by choice draft, scheduled to be held this Monday.

Initially, the icon cricketers – Shakib al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain – were thought to be assigned to the six BPL franchises for the forthcoming third edition of the tournament with consent from the players.

That way ace all-rounder Shakib was supposed to go to Dhaka Dynamites, opening batsman Tamim to Chittagong Vikings, all-rounder Nasir to Rangpur and Bangladesh ODI and Twenty20 captain Mashrafe to Comilla Victorians. Mushfiq and Mahmudullah were expected to be assigned to Sylhet and Barisal respectively.

The decision however, failed to sustain after it was opposed by the franchises, mainly by Comilla and Rangpur. Comilla preferred Shakib to veteran paceman Mashrafe while Rangpur showed their interest towards Tamim.

The BPL GC was opposed by the two franchises for its decision to assign the icon cricketers. According to sources, at one point the technical committee of the money-spinning T20 tournament was warned by the franchises that they would boycott the competition.

To eliminate such issues, the BPL GC decided to put the icon cricketers in the players’ by choice or players' draft. BPL GC member secretary Ismail Haider Mallick informed the media that the technical committee has decided to put the icon cricketers in the draft.

“You see, we got requests for Shakib from five franchises and when we thought of giving him to Dhaka, the others objected. We do not want to take any blame whatsoever and that is why we have decided to put the icon cricketers in the draft,” said Mallick to Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Bangladesh Cricket Board director Khaled Mahmud, who has been assigned as the advisor of Dhaka by the board, stated that his franchise are looking to avoid potential conflicts.

“If there is an issue with this (the board assigning the icon cricketers to the franchises) I think it is better they are put in the draft. The teams can try their luck and select the icons according to the turns of the lottery,” said Khaled to Dhaka Tribune yesterday.