Lahore picks Mustafizur for PSL at Tk 28.1m

Bangladesh cricketer Mustafizur Rahman has been roped in by Lahore Qalandars for the next season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), report agencies.
The franchise announced on Thursday that they have secured the left-arm pacer via a direct signing ahead of the league's auction. The deal is valued at 64.4 million Pakistani Rupees (approximately 28.1 million Bangladeshi Taka).
Mustafizur was earlier bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but was later released due to security concerns for him in India, which sparked a geopolitical storm in the cricketing world.
Mustafizur's release from KKR triggered a domino effect that has since fractured the region's cricketing ties.
Following Mustafizur's exclusion, the Bangladesh government refused to send the national team to India for the T20 World Cup due to safety concerns. After the ICC rejected a venue change request and replaced Bangladesh with Scotland, the Pakistan government announced a boycott of their World Cup match against India in solidarity with Dhaka.
The 11th edition of the PSL, which has expanded to eight teams this year, is scheduled to run from March 26 to May 03. While the player draft is set for February 11, the Qalandars utilized the direct signing rule to secure Mustafizur's services early.
The Bangladeshi star, originally picked by the Qalandars in 2016 and 2018, is now set to don the
Qalandars' colours once more. The signing was agreed at Rs60.44 million.
"Once a Qalandar, always a Qalandar. Mustafizur is not just a player; he's a brother, a key part of our family who never left," said Lahore Qalandars owner Sameen Rana.
Previously, the PSL franchise had announced its decision to retain captain Shaheen Afridi, key batter Abdullah Shafique, dynamic all-rounder Sikandar Raza, and skilled youngster Mohammad Naeem.