Convoluted DPL draft completed
The national players who performed in the ICC World Twenty20 and the recently concluded Under-19 World Cup garnered a majority of the attention during the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League (DPL) players' draft yesterday.
Over a period of five hours yesterday, the player draft of the premier 50-over domestic competition of the country, witnessed more than 100 players distributed among 12 clubs through the player-by-choice method, with the likes of Mahmudullah Riyad and Sabbir Rahman being the most popular choices.
As per the system, the players were divided into different categories and were assigned a fixed financial value. That value ranged from Tk 30 lakh for the Icon players to Tk 1 lakh for players belonging to category F. The 12 clubs were each given turns to buy the players on a lottery basis.
Players belonging to the Icon and A-plus categories were bought towards the end of the programme. The luckiest club of that round, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, received the opportunity to call the first player and they chose Riyad. Holders Prime Bank Cricket Club were next in line and chose Sabbir Rahman.
Prime Doleshwar chose Nasir Hossain next, while Abahani Limited, Mohammedan and Victoria Sporting chose Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque respectively.
That was followed by the Legends of Rupganj selecting Soumya Sarkar. Interestingly, national captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza did not seem to be a favourite among the clubs. He was eventually selected by Kalabagan Krira Chakra, who were 11th in line out of the 12 clubs.
It was a surprise considering that Mashrafe's leadership played a big role in Comilla Vikings' victory in the Bangladesh Premier League. The players in that competition too were distributed via the player-by-choice method.
Among the remaining players in those categories, Brothers Union signed up Imrul Kayes while Mithun Ali was bought by Rupganj in the second round.
Both Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman were ignored by the clubs in the first round since neither of them are likely to take part in the DPL. They will both be busy with leagues abroad. However, as per the current schedule of the league, there is a chance that both these players may get to play three matches in the final stages of the competition. As a result, they were kept in the list. Shakib was eventually bought by Abahani while archrivals Mohammedan bought Mustafizur.
The inclusion of Shakib in the side means that Abahani have both Tamim and Shakib in their team. They have built a strong side with coach Khaled Mahmud making some smart picks at the table. Apart from the duo, they also selected Taskin Ahmed, Saqlain Sajib and leg-spinner Jubair Hossain Likhon.
They also have in the side under-19 allrounder Nazmul Hossain Shanto, who was in fact their first pick, prior to the distribution of the icon and grade A-plus players.
In a similar move, a number of other under-19 players got special preference by the clubs. The former under-19 national captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz was retained by Kalabagan Cricket Academy. Hard-hitting batsman Saeed Sarkar was selected by Cricket Coaching School.
While the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the clubs did manage to implement the players draft via the player-by-choice method, there was a clear lack of enthusiasm. Owing to the rather complex mechanism where lotteries were held for each of the 13 buying rounds, there were a few confusing moments during the draft with the clubs and the coordinator getting confused regarding the buying turns at times. These moments could have caused confusion among the viewers as well as the draft was broadcast live, without any proper graphical support.
At the end of the day, the clubs and the board did manage to organise the players' transfer with a cap on the players' earning capacity. However, one wonders as to how long this process can continue and whether the players will eventually get frustrated.
The chaos during the transfer was much like the proverbial fish market in more ways than one. The demand for players and their ceilinged earning potential brings to mind the current rise in price of the Hilsa fish in the market with Pahela Baishakh fast approaching. Unfortunately for the general public, one cannot apply the 'player-by-choice' mechanism there.
DPL squads
Prime Bank Cricket Club: Sabbir Rahman, Mehadi Maruf, Taibur Rahman Parvez, Md. Nazmul Islam Apu, Rubel Hossain, Yasir Ali Rabbi, Monir Hossain Khan, Shenaz Ahmed, Md. Azim, Jony Talukdar, Yasir Arafat Mishu, Kazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shuvagata Hom Chowdhury
Prime Doleshwar Cricket Club: Nasir Hossain, Forhad Reza, Rakibul Hasan (Jr.), Md. Al-Amin Hossain, Rahatul Ferdous, Imtiaz Hossain Tanna, Sahagir Hossain Pavel, Ziaur Rahman, Zakaria Masud, Rony Talukdar, Sanjamul Islam Nayan
Abahani Limited: Tamim Iqbal, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Taskin Ahmed, Saqlain Sajib, Abul Hasan Raju, Avishek Mitra, Jubayar Hossain Likhon, Tapash Baishya, Amitav Kumar Noyon, Abu Bakker Siddique, Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Kumar Das, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat
Kalabagan Cricket Academy: Irfan Shukkur, Bishonath Haldar, Myshukur Rahman, Abu Jayed Chowdhury, Md. Abdul Halim, Prosonjit Das, Nur Hossain Munna, Taposh Ghosh, Rifat Pradan, Didar Hossain Imran, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Mahmudul Hasan Lemon
Mohammedan Sporting Club: Mushfiqur Rahim, Saikat Ali, Ezaz Ahmed, Nayeem Islam (Jr.), Enamul Haque (Jr.), Nazmul Hossain Milon, Shuvashish Roy Chowdhury, Hamidul Islam Himel, Habibur Rahman Jony, Nazmul Hossain, Sayed Golam Kibria, Mustafizur Rahman, Naim Islam, Ariful Haque
Legends of Rupganj: Soumya Sarkar, Taijul Islam, Asif Ahmed Ratul, Abu Hider Rony, Zunaed Siddique, Alauddin Babu, Mizanur Rahman, Mehidi Hasan Rana, Nahidul Islam, Sajjadul Haque Ripon, Murad Khan, Shaheen Hossain, Mohammad Mithun, Jahirul Islam Omi, Khandokar Musharraf Hossain
Victoria Sporting Club: Mominul Haque, Dhiman Ghosh, Mohammad Al-Amin (Jr.), Abdul Majid, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Fazle Rabbi Mahmud, Anamul Hoque, Jubair Ahmed, Dollar Mahmud, Mahamudul Haque Setu, Humayan Kabir Shahin, Nadif Chowdhury, Sohrawardi Shuvo
Brothers Union: Imrul Kayes, Zakir Hasan, Shahriar Nafees, Mohammad Shahid, Nabil Samad, Ahmed Sadikur Rahman, Sanjit Saha Dip, Sk. Tushar Imran, Nur Alam Saddam, Nafees Iqbal Khan, Rumman Ahmed, Sheikh Najmul Hossain, Asif Hassan, Iftekhar Sazzad Rony
Sk Jamal: Mahmudullah Riyad, Marshall Ayub, Muktar Ali, Joyraj Sheikh, Shafiul Islam, Nazmus Sadat, Zabid Hossain, Rasel Al Mamun, Mahbubul Karim Mithu, Abdur Rahman Rony, Shohag Gazi, Arafat Sunny
Kalabagan Krira Chakra: Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mohammad Sharifullah, Sadman Islam Anik, Tanvir Haider Khan, Mehrab Hossain (Jr.), Nihad Uz Zaman, Mohammad Jasimuddin, Dewan Sabbair Ahmed, Mohammad Hassanuzzaman, Robiul Islam, Shariful Islam, Abdur Razzak, Tasamul Haque Rubel
Cricket Coaching School: Nasum Ahmed, Saeed Sarkar, Rajin Saleh Alam, Amit Majumdar, Saleh Ahmed Shawon, Salman Hossain Emon, Refatuzzaman Ovi, Ali Ahmmed Manik, Mehrab Hossain Joshi, Saif Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin
Gazi Group Cricketers: Anamul Haque Bijoy, Shamsur Rahman Shuvo, Mehadi Hasan, Mohammad Sharif, Farhad Hossain, Delwar Hossain, Mohammad Furkan, Abu Sayem Chowdhury, Nasir Uddin Faruque, Sajedul Islam, Imamul Mustakin Rassel, Alok Kapali, Mohammad Elias
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