Shakib and Litton in Diamond Category as Large Bangladesh Contingent Enters Afghanistan Premier League Draft
A large contingent of Bangladesh cricketers has entered the auction for the Afghanistan Premier League (APL). Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das and several other star cricketers from the country are in the draft, to be held in Dubai.
Shakib and Litton have been placed in the draft's top Diamond category. Alongside them in this category are Towhid Hridoy, Shoriful Islam and pacer Nahid Rana.
In the Platinum category are experienced cricketer Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Rishad Hossain.
Another 12 Bangladesh cricketers are in the Gold category — Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Saif Hassan, Shamim Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Hasan Mahmud, Jaker Ali Anik, Mehedi Hasan, Taijul Islam and Mohammad Saifuddin.
In all, this year's draft will feature 462 cricketers across five categories. Alongside Diamond, Platinum and Gold, there are also Silver and Emerging categories.
Alongside the Bangladesh cricketers, the draft includes several familiar faces from international cricket. Among them are Wanindu Hasaranga, Reeza Hendricks, Romario Shepherd, Rovman Powell, Imran Tahir, Akeal Hosein, Kusal Perera, Imam-ul-Haq, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Charith Asalanka and Sahibzada Farhan.
In its new format, this year's APL with five teams is scheduled to start on December 27. However, the tournament venue has not yet been officially announced. It is being heard that the entire tournament may be held in the United Arab Emirates instead of Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) first launched the APL in 2018. That five-team tournament, however, did not last beyond one season. Although star cricketers such as Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Shahid Afridi took part, the competition was shut down because of a major dispute over players' payments and concerns over the tournament's transparency.
