SAMSUL AREFIN KHAN

The players’ auction returned to the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) after 12 years yesterday and its comeback was not without surprises as top-order batter Mohammad Naim fetched the highest price among all local players and some young up-and-comers earned bigger bucks than the veterans.

Naim, placed in Category A with a base price of Tk 50 lakh, was roped in by Chattogram Royals for a whopping Tk 1.10 crore after winning a bidding battle against Sylhet Titans, Rangpur Riders and Noakhali Express.

Naim, who is in Sylhet right now representing Mymensingh Division against Barishal Division in the National Cricket League (NCL), watched the auction with his teammates while returning to the hotel after the day’s play ended early due to bad light.

“I didn’t have very high expectations, but I was excited,” Naim told The Daily Star on Sunday.

The auction was scheduled to begin at 4:00pm, but it started almost an hour late, as fate seemingly scripted the moment perfectly for the 26-year-old.

“Everyone was shouting when my name was sold at that price,” Naim described the mood in the team bus when he was bought.

Naim, who had finished as the highest run-getter last season with 511 runs, believed his domestic performances earned him this reward.

“I performed well last year and I’ve been rewarded for it. That’s how it should be -- those who perform should be recognised. Alhamdulillah, I am very happy.

“Even if I were sold at my base price, my dedication would remain the same. I always play with passion for whichever team I represent -- and that won’t change, Inshallah.”

Meanwhile, Bangladesh T20I captain Litton Das -- the only other player in Category A -- went for significantly less than Naim, as Rangpur scooped him up for Tk 70 lakh.

The Riders had to splurge a lot more for Tawhid Hridoy, who was in Category B with a base price of Tk 35 lakh, bidding Tk 92 lakh -- the second most for a local player -- to secure his services.

Uncapped cricketers Habibur Rahman Sohan and Abdul Gaffar Saqlain, who were in Category D with a base price of Tk 18 lakh, were rewarded for their great performances for Bangladesh ‘A’ in the recently concluded Asia Cup Rising Stars.

Habibur went to Noakhali for Tk 50 lakh, almost three times his base price. Saqlain, a 27-year-old medium pacer who debuted in List A cricket just last year and is yet to debut at the BPL, was bought by Rajshahi Warriors for Tk 44 lakh.

Veterans Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah initially went unsold from Category B. They were supposed to be recalled in the auction in Category C but upon the insistence of some franchises, were brought up again in the same category and were picked by Rajshahi and Rangpur respectively.

The franchises showed little interest for the overseas players as each team picked the minimum two. Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka fetched the highest amount out of the foreigners, $55000, to play for Dhaka Capitals. Two Associate Nation players also received teams, as Sylhet Titans picked Aaron Jones (USA) and Rangpur got Emilio Gay (Italy).