Naim, Hridoy, Litton go for big money at BPL auction

Mohammad Naim was the only player to fetch more than BDT 1 crore (USD 88,000 approx) at the BPL auction on Sunday, when Chittagong Royals signed him up for the upcoming season. Naim, the highest run-scorer in the BPL last season (511 runs at a strike-rate of 143.94), was incidentally the first player who went up for sale in the auction.

Towhid Hridoy (USD 73,600) and Litton Das (USD 56,000) also went for big money, both signed up by Rangpur Riders.

There were, however, no initial bids for veterans Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, who were both in category B. Later in the day, after a request from BCB director and Rangpur chief executive Ishtiaque Sadeque, the auctioneer put up both players for sale again.

Eventually, Rangpur took in Mahmudullah, while Rajshahi Warriors signed Mushfiqur, for their base price of BDT 35 lakh (USD 28,000 approx).

Dasun Shanaka was the most expensive signing among the overseas players, going to Dhaka Capitals for USD 55,000. Angelo Mathews and Niroshan Dickwella were sold at their category A base price of USD 35,000, to Chittagong Royals and Sylhet Titans, respectively.

Among the uncapped players, Habibur Rahman Sohan, who recently did well for Bangladesh A in the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament, was taken by Noakhali Express for USD 40,000.

This was the BPL's first auction since the inaugural edition in 2012. The rest of the editions have been done through the drafting process.

During the auction, there were also a few Bangladesh cricketers who sat in the bidding tables, including Nurul Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

The BPL will be contested by six teams - Dhaka Capitals, Rangpur Riders, Rajshahi Warriors, Noakhali Express, Sylhet Titans and Chittagong Royals - with the tournament likely to start on December 26.