Shakib Al Hasan joins Chittagong Kings for upcoming BPL edition
What's the story
Chittagong Kings have roped in talismanic all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan for the upcoming edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
This comes after Shakib and his previous side, Rangpur Riders, mutually agreed to end their two-year contract prematurely.
The move was taken to allow Shakib to be signed directly by the Kings.
Here are further details.
Draft highlights
BPL draft sees late signings and surprises
The BPL draft, which took place in Dhaka on October 14, saw a number of late signings. After 40 other players were picked by different franchises, Fortune Barishal picked Rishad Hossain.
The team also roped in Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto later on.
Despite underwhelming returns in the last edition, Mashrafe Mortaza was picked by Sylhet Strikers, a team he has represented in the last two BPL editions.
Post-draft reflections
BCB president expresses satisfaction over BPL draft
BCB president Faruque Ahmed was happy to see the draft finally completed despite initial doubts.
"We were all in a lot of uncertainty. I wasn't even sure how many teams would participate. It took a lot of hard work," Ahmed said.
Although there were some delays and team vacancies still remain, Ahmed confirmed most of the plans for the draft were executed as intended.
Pitch improvements
BCB's focus on improving batting pitches for BPL
Ahmed also emphasized the board's dedication to providing better batting pitches for the next BPL.
He said, "This time, our utmost effort will be to ensure good batting wickets where bowlers will be respected if they bowl well."
The goal is to make T20 cricket more fun by providing quality wickets that are fair to both batsmen and bowlers.