They made use of the national pool very well, roping in Khaled Mashud, Tushar Imran and Mashrafee Bin Mortuza while also securing Khulna captain and all-rounder Manzarul Islam.

National wicketkeeper Mashud made the move from arch-rivals Mohammedan Sporting Club while Tushar Imran left his club of three years City Club for the former champions.

"I am back to my old team after a long time, and it feels good. It is a good team that is being put together and I hope we can vie for the championship," said the 30-year-old Mashud, who was rested for the final two one-day internationals against Zimbabwe this weekend.

His Tigers teammate Mashrafee, who transferred from Indira Road, also expressed his satisfaction over the move.

"It is good to play for such a big and popular club," said the man known as Narail Express.

Abahani also signed young batsmen Nazmus Sadat, Jahurul Islam, Mahmudullah Riyad, Naeem Islam, Talha Jubair, Ziaur Rahman and in-form fast bowler Mohammad Shahjada to complement the leading cricketers in the club.

Two-time defending champions Old DOHS roped in all their confirmed players including young Tigers opener Mehrab Hossain, fresh from a satisfactory series against the Zimbabweans.

The young opener who played for City Club last season, cited the challenges that lie ahead with the club. He said: "It'll be big test as we are gunning for our third consecutive title."

But his old club confirmed the services of national vice-captain Shahriar Nafees, while Bangladesh Biman signed Forhad Reza from the national pool. They also kept embattled opener Javed Omar and paceman Syed Rasel. The national airline carrier kept left-armer Mosharraf Hossain and also added Raqibul Hasan, Shafaq Al Jabir and Nafis Iqbal.

The team to beat for Abahani still remains Old DOHS who have also put together a formidable combination of players. Abdur Razzak, Mehrab Hossain and Shahadat Hossain are part of the pool players apart from young guns Enamul Haque, Nazmul Hossain, Tamim Iqbal, Nadif Chowdhury, Dollar Mahmud, Nabil Samad, Shamsur Rahman and seasoned campaigner Ehsanul Haque.

Mohammedan Sporting Club signed in Hasibul Hossain, Rashedul Haq, Faisal Hossain, Sahagir Hossain, Nadimuddin Mintu, Arafat Sunny, Junaid Siddiqui, Tapash Baisya and Imtiaz Hossain. The giants kept the services of national captain Habibul Bashar and Aftab Ahmed.

Last year's second placed side Sonargaon Cricketers kept pool players Mohammad Ashraful and Mohammad Rafique while also roping in Arshaful's partner in the national partnership record earlier this month Marshall Ayub, Mohammad Sharif and Dhiman Ghosh.

But all-rounder Neeyamur Rashid left his club of seven years Abahani and signed for newcomers Partex along with Ahsanullah Hasan. Among the major names, Partex roped in Sylhet captain Rajin Saleh.

Brothers Union have lost most of their players as Ehsanul Haque, Nafis Iqbal, Nazmul Hossain, Enamul Haque, Arafat Salahuddin, Ziaur Rahman, Rashedul Haq and Arafat Sunny all exited the club this season. But Brothers are expected to confirm the services of Debobroto Paul, Imran Ahmed, Hannan Sarkar, Alamgir Kabir, Abul Bashar and Saju Datta.

The transfers go on today and end tomorrow evening.