10 Bangladeshi cricketers in APL draft

Dhaka, 2 Nov - A total of 10 Bangladeshi cricketers have been included in the final draft list for the revamped Afghanistan Premier League (APL).

The player draft will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said 462 cricketers have been shortlisted for the final draft from around 1,500 registrations by domestic and overseas players.

The five-team T20 tournament is scheduled to begin on December 27, with the United Arab Emirates set to host the competition. The final venue, however, is yet to be announced.

The likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Rishad Hossain have been placed in the Platinum category.

The other Bangladeshi players on the list are T20 captain Liton Das, Towhid Hridoy, Shoriful Islam and Nahid Rana.

Pakistan have the highest representation among foreign players, with 29 cricketers registering for the draft. India's Vijay Shankar, who has retired from all forms of international and domestic cricket, is also among the registered players. Ayan Khan and Murugan Ashwin are the other Indian names on the list.

Several other international players, including Wanindu Hasaranga, Riza Hendricks, Romario Shepherd, Rovman Powell, Imran Tahir and Akeal Hosein, have also entered the draft.

 The ACB has already announced the captains, head coaches and mentors of the five participating teams. The appointments were finalised through a leaders' draft involving the team mentors.

Rashid Khan will lead Kandahar Warriors, with Ravi Bopara as head coach and Irfan Pathan as mentor. Azmatullah Omarzai will captain Kabul's Axel United, coached by Shane McDermott, with Nikhil Chopra serving as mentor.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been named captain of Nangarhar, with Toby Radford as head coach and Mark Boucher as mentor. Rahmat Shah will lead Paktia, coached by Azhar Mahmood, while Waqar Younis will serve as mentor.

Ibrahim Zadran will captain Balkh, with Mickey Arthur as head coach and Tillakaratne Dilshan as mentor.

Each franchise will have a maximum salary budget of US$725,000 for its squad. Under the tournament rules, each team will have 19 active players, comprising 17 selected in the main draft and two in the supplementary round.

Teams must include at least seven Afghan players, including one emerging cricketer, in their playing XI, while the number of overseas players cannot exceed four. At least three foreign players must also be among the first nine draft selections.

The inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League was held in 2018. The tournament was subsequently suspended following concerns over financial irregularities and disciplinary issues.

The competition is now set to return in a revamped format after a lengthy hiatus.BSS