Beximco Dhaka have picked Mushfiqur Rahim as the first player in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup's draft being held in Dhaka on Thursday. Gemcon Khulna then took Shakib Al Hasan, while Gazi Group and Fortune Barisal picked Mustafizur Rahman and Tamim Iqbal, respectively. All four players are in Grade A, which will fetch them BDT 15 lakh (US $17,700 approx) each.
Minister Rajshahi, however, didn't pick anyone from Grade A, instead opting for allrounder Mohammad Saifuddin as their first pick. They have also taken allrounder Mahedi Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mohammad Ashraful.
Dhaka took Bangladesh's Under-19 World Cup-winning players Tanzid Hasan, Shahadat Hossain and Akbar Ali, while Khulna picked Shamim Hossain and Chattogram took Shoriful Islam.
Players in category B will be paid BDT 1 million (US $11,800 approx), category C will get BDT 600,000 (US $7,100 approx) and category D to get BDT 400,000 (US $4,720 approx).
This will be the second tournament of the 2020-21 season, and the second attempt by the BCB to hold a complete tournament within a biobubble environment. Five companies have paid BDT 2 crore (US $236,000 approx) each to buy the teams. The BCB held fitness tests for 113 players (outside the national and High Performance camps) to determine the list of players in the draft.
More to follow...