Shakib Al Hasan has signed with Chittagong Kings for the forthcoming season of the Bangladesh Premier League. Previously, Shakib had entered into a two-year contract with Rangpur Riders; however, both parties amicably agreed to terminate the agreement, facilitating his direct signing with the Kings.
Fortune Barishal chose Rishad Hossain, but this decision came after 40 other players had already been selected by various franchises. It is possible that the franchises were reluctant to choose Rishad due to uncertainties regarding his availability, as he has been signed by the Hobart Hurricanes for the current season of the Big Bash League. Additionally, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was also a late acquisition, with Barishal once more securing his services.
Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2025 draft
Taskin Ahmed was the inaugural player selected in this year’s BPL draft, as the newly established franchise Durbar Rajshahi chose the 29-year-old fast bowler. The defending champions, Fortune Barishal, opted for Mahmudullah, who has recently concluded his T20I career, with the seventh overall selection, while retaining a number of players from their previous season’s roster for the 2024-25 team.
Fast bowlers Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana, like Taskin, were selected as first-round picks for the Khulna Tigers and Rangpur Riders, respectively. The first round was completed with the selections of Litton Das (Dhaka Capitals), Shamim Hossain (Chittagong Kings), and Rony Talukdar (Sylhet Strikers). However, there was no interest in Category A players, legspinner Rishad Hossain and Najmul Hossain Shanto, who is currently the captain of Bangladesh’s T20I team and the leading scorer from the 2023 season.
Barishal subsequently selected both Shanto and Rishad with the 15th and 43rd overall picks, respectively, for local cricketers. Shanto has not been performing well recently, and there are uncertainties regarding Rishad’s availability, as he has been chosen by the Hobart Hurricanes for the current season of the Big Bash League.
Sylhet acquired Mashrafe Mortaza, who had represented the same franchise for the previous two seasons. The team retained Zakir Hasan, Tanzim Hasan, Paul Stirling, and George Munsey, in addition to directly signing Jaker Ali. In the draft, they selected Reece Topley, Rahkeem Cornwall, and Samiullah Shenwari.
Defending champions Barishal have successfully retained Tamim Iqbal, who was named player of the tournament in the previous season, along with Mushfiqur Rahim. The team has also secured direct signings of Towhid Hridoy, Dawid Malan, Kyle Mayers, Mohammad Nabi, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Ali, and Jahandad Khan. Additionally, they acquired Pathum Nissanka through the draft, although the Sri Lankan batsman will only be available for part of the BPL.
There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the player draft which eventually took place in Dhaka on Monday (October 14). BCB president Faruque Ahmed was pleased that the draft took place.
“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. My BPL team also worked on it. Now, we’ve held the draft. With two and a half months left until the main tournament, I’m confident the teams will be able to further strengthen their squads,” said Faruque.
“Most teams still have some spots to fill. So far, we’ve conducted the draft as planned, though it was delayed once. Given that, I wouldn’t say it’s been too bad,” he said. “There are seven teams. We are trying many new things. It won’t be 100 percent perfect but it will be better than before.”
Faruque also said the focus will be on providing good batting pitches for the BPL. “This time, our utmost effort will be to ensure good batting wickets where bowlers will be respected if they bowl well. I believe the wickets weren’t too bad in the last tournament either. Runs were low in the daytime matches. This time, we will try to make T20 cricket more enjoyable.”
The BPL teams can continue to sign players directly till the scheduled tournament start date on December 27. Dhaka Capitals, Chittagong Kings and Durbar Rajshahi are the new franchises in this season while Fortune Barishal, Khulna Tigers, Sylhet Strikers and Rangpur Riders are the existing franchises from the last cycle.
BPL 2025 Squads after the draft
Dhaka Capitals
Direct signings: Mustafizur Rahman and Tanzid Hasan Tamim
Foreign direct signings: Thisara Perera, Johnson Charles, Amir Hamza, Shahnawaz Dahani and Stephen Eskinazi
From the draft: Liton Kumer Das, Habibur Rahman Sohan, Mukidul Islam, Abu Jayed, Sabbir Rahman, Munim Shahriar, Asif Hasan, Shahadat Hossain Dipu, Musfik Hasan (local), Saim Ayub and Amir Hamza Hotak (foreign).
Chittagong Kings
Direct signing: Shakib Al Hasan and Shoriful Islam
Foreign direct signing:Â Moeen Ali, Usman Khan, Haider Ali, Angelo Mathews, Mohammad Wasim Jr and Binura Fernando
From the draft: Shamim Hossain, Parvez Hossain Emon, Khaled Ahmed, Aliss Al Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Naeem Islam, Maruf Mridha, Rahatul Ferdous Javed, Sheikh Parvez Jibon, Marshall Ayub (local), Graham Clarke and Thomas O’Connell (foreign).
Durbar Rajshahi
Direct signing: Anamul Haque Bijoy
From the draft: Taskin Ahmed, Jishan Alam, Yasir Ali, Sabbir Hossen, Sanjamul Islam, SM Meherob Hasan, Akbar Ali, Hasan Murad, Md. Shafiul Islam, Mohor Sheikh (local), Saad Nasim and Lahiru Samarakoon (foreign).
Fortune Barishal
Direct signing: Towhid Hridoy
Retained players: Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim
Foreign direct signing: Kyle Mayers, Dawid Malan, Mohammad Nabi, Faheem Ashraf, Ali Mohammad, Jahandad Khan
From the draft: Mahmudullah, Tanvir Islam, Najmul Hossain, Ripon Mondol, Ebadot Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taijul Islam, Shohidul Islam, Ariful Islam (local), James Fuller, Pathum Nissanka and Nandre Burger (foreign)
Sylhet Strikers
Direct signing: Jaker Ali Anik
Retained players: Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Zakir Hasan
Foreign direct signing: Paul Stirling and George Munsey
From the draft: Rony Talukder, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Al-Amin Hossain, Arafat Sunny, Ruyel Miah, Ariful Haque, Nihaduzzaman, Nahidul Islam (local), Rahkeem Cornwall, Samiullah Shinwari and Reece Topley (foreign).
Khulna Tigers
Direct signing: Mehidy Hasan
Retained players: Afif Hossain and Nasum Ahmed
Foreign direct signing: Oshane Thomas
From the draft: Hasan Mahmud, Mohammad Naim, Imrul Kayes, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Abu Hider Rony, Ziaur Rahman, Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby, Mahmudul Hasan Joy (local), Mohammad Hasnain, Lewis Gregory and Mohammad Nawaz (foreign).
Rangpur Riders
Direct signing: Mohammad Saifuddin
Retained players: Nurul Hasan Sohan and Mahedi Hasan
Foreign direct signing: Alex Hales, Khushdil Shah, Allah Ghazanfar, Steven Taylor and Saurabh Netravalkar
From the draft: Nahid Rana, Saif Hassan, Soumya Sarkar, Rakibul Hasan, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Irfan Sukkur, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Tawfique Khan Tushar (local), Akif Javed and Curtis Campher (foreign).
