In-form Liton not picked as direct signing in BPL

Dhaka, 20 Nov - Despite being in-form of his life, Liton Das failed to attract any of seven franchisees who will contest in the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), slated to start on January 5 next year.

There was a rule in BPL that a franchise can sign one local player each on a direct contract. Taking this advantage, all the teams have picked one of their preferred cricketers on direct contracts as The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed the matter in a statement on Saturday.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and Afif Hossain got the team in the ninth season of the BPL on direct signing but surprising factor was no team picked Liton Das, who is unarguably the best Bangladeshi batter in three formats of cricket for the last two years, as direct signing.

Even in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, Liton Das almost won Bangladesh a match against mighty India. His 27 ball-60 was considered as one of the best T20 knocks played by a batter in the T20 World Cup history.

However, first of all, Sylhet Strikers officially announced Mashrafe's
inclusion in the team. And the last addition is Taskin. He will play for
Dhaka.

Apart from this, Shakib will play for Fortune Barisal, Tamim for Khulna Tigers, Mustafiz for Cumilla Victorians, Sohan for Rangpur Riders, Afif for Chittagong Challengers.

Foreign cricketers are also being finalized by the franchises as per
convenience. The BPL draft, however, is scheduled to take place on November 23 at a local hotel in the city. The entire team building process will be completed through the draft.

Seven franchises are awarded team for three seasons. Barisal is owned by Fortune Barisal Sports Limited, Khulna is owned by Mindtree Limited, Sylhet is owned by Future Sports Limited, Rangpur is owned by Togi Sports Limited (Basundhara Group), Chattogram is owned by Delta Sports Limited and Cumilla is owned by Cumilla Legends Limited.

And although the ownership of Dhaka is with Pragati Auto Rice Mill Limited, there was a final change as Rupa Fabrics got new ownership.

In 2023, the ninth season will start from January 5. The 43-day tournament will continue till February 16.