Bangladesh News

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza hit an amazing figure when the Kolkata Knight Riders purchased the Bangladesh fast bowler for six-lakh dollars (US) after a sensational bidding in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Goa yesterday.

There was more good news for the Tigers as Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful was sold to Mumbai Indians, who roped in the batsman at his base price of US$ 75,000.

After a dramatic bidding, Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan’s Knight Riders got pace spearhead Mashrafe, dubbed “Narail Express”, for a price that is the biggest ever deal for any Bangladeshi sportsman in history.

Mashrafe’s bidding started with a base price of US$ 50,000 but the figures skyrocketed with the Kings XI Punjab also wanting him. They stayed hot on the heels of Knight Riders but the Kolkata side had the last laugh offering 12 times higher than the floor price.

The 25-year-old Bangladesh vice-captain, number eight in the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers, will be playing beside the likes of former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, Australian captain Ricky Ponting, West Indies’ Chris Gayle and New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum.

It is the first time Bangladeshi players have been put to the IPL auction after left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak signed for Bangalore Royal Challengers after negotiations in the first version of the million-dollar Twenty20 competition.

Surprisingly, no buyer showed interests to Tigers’ star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, the world’s number one all-rounder in ODI rankings, while dashing opener Tamim Iqbal, the other Bangladeshi cricketer in the auction, also remained unsold.

England’s Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff were sold for US$ 1.55 million each making them the highest-paid cricketers in the competition.