Barishal make strong side after BPL draft

Defending champions Fortune Barishal signed Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto for the upcoming edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), which is slated to begin on December 27. Leg-spinner Rishad Hossain, another Category A player, was a late picked by the same franchise.

Barishal took Mahmudullah, who recently retired from T20Is, with the seventh overall pick as they retained several of their last season's squad members for the 2024-25 team, report agencies.

Former Bangladesh captains Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Mahmudullah Riyad have found their homes for the upcoming BPL season, with franchises finalizing their rosters after Monday's player draft.

The 11th edition of the BPL is set to begin on December 27, featuring seven teams, including newcomer Durbar Rajshahi.

All teams secured players through direct signings or retention before completing their squads in the draft.

Taskin Ahmed was the first player called in this year's BPL draft when the new franchise Durbar Rajshahi picked the 29-year old fast bowler.

Like Taskin, fast bowlers Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana were also first round picks, for Khulna Tigers and Rangpur Riders respectively. Litton Das (Dhaka Capitals), Shamim Hossain (Chittagong Kings) and Rony Talukdar (Sylhet Strikers) rounded off the first round. There was however no takers for Category A players legspinner Rishad Hossain and Najmul Hossain Shanto, Bangladesh's current T20I captain and the top scorer from 2023 season.

Barishal would later pick both Shanto and Rishad with the 15th and 43rd overall picks for local cricketers. Shanto hasn't been in great form off late, while many believed that Rishad's availability is slightly unclear as the Hobart Hurricane picked him for this season's BBL.

Sylhet took Mashrafe Mortaza, who appeared for the same franchise for the past two seasons. Sylhet had retained Zakir Hasan, Tanzim Hasan, Paul Stirling and George Munsey, while directly signing Jaker Ali. Among those they picked in the draft were Reece Topley, Rahkeem Cornwall and Samiullah Shenwari.

Defending champions Barishal retained Tamim Iqbal, the player-of-the-tournament last season, and Mushfiqur Rahim. They directly signed Towhid Hridoy, Dawid Malan, Kyle Mayers, Mohammad Nabi, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Ali and Jahandad Khan. They also took Pathum Nissanka from the draft although the Sri Lankan batter is available partially during the BPL.

Pakistani cricketers Saim Ayub (Dhaka Capitals), Akif Javed (Rangpur Riders) and Mohammad Hasnain (Khulna Tigers) were the first three overseas picks, followed by James Fuller (Barishal) and Graham Clark (Chittagong).

Chittagong Kings have made a remarkable return to the BPL after a hiatus since 2013 as the team signed Bangladesh's star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan before the draft. In addition, they've built a strong squad from the BPL draft on Monday, securing several key players.