No icons in BPL of 2018 season

Bangladesh Premier League, the country's franchise based Twenty20 tournament, has done away with the local icon player category for the upcoming edition, reports Cricbuzz.

The A+ category will be the top bracket along with five more categories - A, B, C, D and E - for franchises to choose players at the next player draft which will be held on October 25.

''There will be no icons in BPL,'' Ismail Haider, BPL governing council secretary told the online sport portal on Monday. ''We have decided to replace that with A+ category."

Mustafizur Rahman and Liton Das have been elevated to the A+ category for the upcoming draft. The left-arm pacer was earlier an icon player for Barisal Bulls but after the franchise was terminated before the 2017 season owing to their inability to honour financial commitments,

Meanwhile, Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar, who were among the icon players last season, miss out from the A+ category owing to average performances in the recent past, a BPL official said. The other icon players of the last season - Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza - will all be part of the top category during the player draft.

The BPL governing council also revealed that the base money for overseas cricketers has been increased to ensure high-profile players are attracted to play in the BPL, which coincides with other franchise based Twenty20 Leagues.