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Mohammad IsamESPN
Two months after completing a five-year ban for match-fixing, Mohammad Ashraful has found his way back into the Bangladesh Premier League. The 34-year old batsman was picked up by Chittagong Vikings during the player draft for the sixth season of the tournament which begins on January 5.
Minutes before the player draft, though, the Vikings also picked up Mushfiqur Rahim from the A+ category (the top category). On the day before, the governing council had informed that as an A+ player (TK 40 to 75 lakh or approx USD 47,000 to 90,000) in the list, any franchise would be able to bid for him after Rajshahi Kings didn’t retain him. The wicketkeeper-batsman is the third highest run-getter in the competition with a tally of 1357 from 54 innings at a strike-rate of 128.
Comilla Victorians have brought in the retired Shahid Afridi, who was in category A+ (For overseas picks that’s USD 200,000). But it was the little-known West Indies allrounder Fabian Allen who was the first foreign pick, taken by Sylhet Sixers. Ian Bell was also taken among the first round of foreign picks, Dhaka Dynamites taking the 36-year old England batsman.
Additionally, AB de Villiers was picked up by Rangpur Riders, and will play alongside West Indies’ Chris Gayle and England’s Alex Hales in this season of the BPL.
Stay tuned for more updates