51 Pakistani cricket stars up for grab in BPL auction

By Ubaid Awan

KARACHI, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) December 18, 2012: A total of 51 Pakistani cricketers will be up for grabs on Thursday when players auction for the second edition of the Bangladesh Premier League will be held in Dhaka.

Apart from 51 Pakistani cricketers, 81 other international cricketers will also be center of attraction in the players auction.

The cricketers have been distributed in four categories, namely Golden Category, "A" Category, "B" Category and "C" Category.

As per the details, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Khan Afridi, explosive opening batsman Imran Nazir and Twenty20 specialist off-spinner Saeed Ajmal have been graded in the Golden Category for the BPL Players Auction.

Fast bowler Umar Gul, all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz, fast bowler Mohammad Sami, wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal and his brother Umar Akmal have been placed in Category A for the BPL Players Auction.

Other Pakistani cricketers including Khurram Manzoor, Shahzaib Hasan, Umar Amin, Asad Ali, Zulfiqar Babar, Awais Zia, Azeem Ghumman, and Fawad Alam have been grouped in Category B for the BPL Players Auction.

Category C is also over-populated with Pakistani cricketers including Haris Sohail, Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Shahid Yousaf, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Hammad Azam, Rao Iftikhar, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Bilawal Bhatti, Khalid Latif, Junaid Zia, and Mansoor Amjad.

Interestingly enough, top Twenty20 Pakistani players including Ahmed Shahzad, Muhammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Shoaib Malik, and Misbah-ul-Haq, are not part of the BPL Players Auction.

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54 players yet to get paid by Bangladesh Premier League

By Saqibul Islam

DHAKA, Bangladesh (TheSportsNEXT) October 19, 2012: The organizers of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) are planning for the season II of the Twenty20 league but at least 54 players, including six foreign cricketers, are yet to get paid for their part in the inaugural version of the league.

Considered as a super-hit in Bangladesh, the BPL 2012 helped Bangladeshi cricketers join hands with foreign players to play some fabulous cricket but financial issues have marred the reputation of the Twenty20 league off-late.

The 54 players from six franchises are yet to get paid even after seven months of the inaugural episode of the Bangladesh Premier League and now the Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) has compiled a list of these players.

The six foreign unpaid cricketers include Azhar Mahmood, Kieron Pollard, Alexei Kervezee, and Darren Stevens from Dhaka Gladiators and Niall O’Brien and Herschelle Gibbs from Khulna Royal Bengals.

Sri Lankan legendary cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan who played for Chittagong Kings in the BPL 2012 is also among the foreign cricketers who haven’t been paid for their hard work in the middle.

Following is the list of cricketers yet to get paid by the Bangladesh Premier League organizers.

Dhaka Gladiators

Mohammad Ashraful, Nazmul Hossain, Elias Sunny, Dhiman Ghosh, Anamul Haque, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Nazimuddin, Kieron Pollard, Azhar Mahmood, Alexei Kervezee, and Darren Stevens.

Chittagong Kings

Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Farhad Reza, Enamul Haq Jr, Jahurul Islam, Arafat Sunny, and Muttiah Muralitharan.

Sylhet Royals

Alok Kapali, Nayeem Islam, Imrul Kayes, Suvagoto Hom Chowdhury, Arafat Salahuddin, Noor Hossain, Talha Jubair, and Nabil Samad.

Duronto Rajshahi

Mushfiqur Rahim, Junaid Siddique, Syed Rasel, Saqlain Sajib, Ariful Haq, Mizanur Rahman, Asif Ahmed, Mukhtar Ali, Sabbir Rahman, and Monir Hossain.

Barisal Burners

Shariar Nafees, Swarwardi Shuvo, Mominul Haq, Alauddin Babu, Shohag Gazi, Mohammad Mithun Ali, Farhad Hossain, and Nazmul Hossain.

Khulna Royal Bengals

Dollar Mahmud, Sahagir Hossain, Marshall Ayub, Nasir Hossain, Nazmul Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Shahadat hossain, Myshukur Rahman, Niall O'Brien, and Herschelle Gibbs.

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