Tamim, Mushfiq in Afghanistan Premier League
Pic: Cricfrenzy.com
||Desk Report||
Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim have been picked by Nangarhar in the inaugural Afghanistan Premier league, which is set to begin from October 5.
While Tamim and Mushfiqur got picked, there were several others Bangladeshi players who did not get any squad in any of the five franchises of the tournament.
Mohammad Ashraful, whose ban was lifted in August this year, was also in the drafts but failed to attract any franchises.
The players' draft held in Dubai on Monday (September 10). Tamim, who was in the 'Diamond' category, was picked for $75,000 in the second call of the draft. Mushfiqur was roped in by the same franchise for $50,000 as he was in the 'Gold' category.
Other Bangladeshi players like – Mohammad Ashraful, Sabbir Rahman, Imrul Kayes, Shahriar Nafees, Anamul Haque, Liton Kumar, Abul Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, Abu Hider, Abdur Razzak, and Sunzamul Islam were also included in the drafts.
“It will be exciting as all the teams are well balanced,” Tamim told reporters on Tuesday. “I am looking forward to playing in the tournament.”
Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi, Chris Gayle, Rashid Khan, Brendon McCullum, and Andre Russell have been named 'icon players' by their respective franchises.
Five teams, named after five provinces (Paktia, Kabul, Balkh, Nangarhar, and Kandahar) of Afghanistan, are participating in this competition. Each of the five teams boasts 17 to 20 squad members. Apart from local players, each squad also requires to have five overseas cricketers and one player from ICC's Associate nations, picked via a draft system.
The 17-day tournament will also feature international players like Chris Jordan, Thisara Perera, Luke Ronchi, Wayne Parnell, Colin Munro, Ravi Bopara, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Cutting, and Wahab Riaz.
Sandeep Lamichhane, Calum Macleod, and Ryan ten Doeschate are among the popular faces from the Associate nations in this tournament.
Squads
Paktia: Shahid Afridi, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Shahzad, Cameron Delport, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Chris Jordan, Faheem Ashraf, Luke Wright, Amatullah Omerzai, Rahmanullah Garbaz, Zia Urhaman Akber, Calum Macleod, Tahir Adil, Yousaf Zazi, Fazal Zazai
Kabul: Rashid Khan, Luke Ronchi, Hazrat Zazai, Colin Ingram, Farid Malik, Javed Ahmadi, Sohail Tanvir, Laurie Evans, Wayne Parnell, Shahidullah, Muslim Musa, Afsar Khan Zazi, Muhammad Ashan Ali Khan, Zahir Shirzad, Fitrat Khawry, Usman Adil, Shawkat Zaman, Nasir Totakhil, Zamir Khan
Balkh: Chris Gayle, Colin Munro, Mohammad Nabi, Ravi Bopara, Aftab Alam, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Irfan, Ben Laughlin, Karman Akmal, Qais Ahmed, Usman Ghani, Ikrain Alikhil, Ryan ten Doeschate, Tariq Skanikai, Asadullah Matani, Samiullah Salarzai, Farhan Zakhil, Mohammad Nawaz, Darwish Rasooli
Nangarhar: Andre Russell, Tamim Iqbal, Mujeeb Zadran, Ben Cutting, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Najibullah Taraki, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Hafeez, Rahmat Shah, Naveen Ul Haq, Zahir Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane, Fazal Haq, Imran Janat, Nasratullah Quarishi, Khyber Omar, Ibrahim Zadran, Faal Nazai
Kandahar: Brendon McCullum, Wahab Riaz, Asghar Afghan, Paul Stirling, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Tymal Mills, Sam Billings, Iftkhar Ahmed, Hamza Hotak, Karim Sadeq, Sayed Shirzad, Mohammad Naveed, Waqar, Abdul Baqi, Waheed Shafaq, Waqarullah Ishaq, Nazir Jamal.
