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The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) player auction made its long-awaited return on Sunday, November 30, at a city hotel after nine straight editions without one. This marked the first auction since the league’s inaugural season in 2012, as a player draft system had been used ever since. Mohammad Naim emerged as the only cricketer to fetch more than BDT 1 crore (approximately USD 88,000), with Chittagong Royals securing him. The upcoming BPL season will be played by six teams from December 26 to January 23.

Naim was also the first player to appear in the auction, which itself began an hour late because the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had to wait for High Court clearance. The delay stemmed from writ petitions filed by nine players who were excluded from the auction due to fixing-related allegations. Once proceedings began, Rangpur Riders secured the second and third most expensive players, Towhid Hridoy for USD 73,600 and Litton Das for USD 56,000. Surprisingly, veterans Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, both in category B, attracted no initial bids.

However, after a request from BCB director and Rangpur Riders CEO Ishtiaque Sadeque, the auctioneer reintroduced the two senior players. Mahmudullah was then picked up by Rangpur Riders, while Rajshahi Warriors acquired Mushfiqur, with both being signed at their base price of BDT 35 lakh (around USD 28,000).

Among uncapped cricketers, Habibur Rahman Sohan was bought by Noakhali Express for USD 40,000 following his strong performances for Bangladesh A at the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament. Mohammad Mithun triggered a spirited bidding battle that raised his price from Tk 22 lakh to Tk 52 lakh. Newcomer Abdul Gaffar Saqlain rose from Tk 18 lakh to Tk 44 lakh, while SM Meherob Hasan also fetched Tk 39 lakh.

Despite hundreds of overseas players going unsold, Sri Lankan all-rounder Dasun Shanaka became the most expensive foreign signing after Dhaka Capitals purchased him for USD 55,000. Noakhali Express also benefited from a stroke of luck when they secured Mahidul Islam and Jaker Ali at base price, players who could have drawn competition had auction guidelines been interpreted correctly.

According to the bylaws, each team must pick at least two players from Grades A and B combined, may take up to six from Grades C and D combined, and up to three from Grades E and F combined. After selecting these 11 players, each franchise must choose one more from any grade to reach the minimum requirement of 12 players, with the option of choosing up to 14 local players. Therefore, every team actually had the right to select more than two players from Grades A and B.

Confusion erupted, however, when the Chattogram Royals picked two players consecutively. Rajshahi Warriors head coach Hannan Sarkar claimed that Chattogram could no longer bid for players from the A and B categories, and the room accepted this interpretation. Consequently, after 10 out of the 12 available A/B-category players were taken by five franchises, Noakhali Express was able to acquire Mahidul and Jaker at their base price because other teams were not allowed to bid.

"I am happy to get those two cricketers at their base price because I didn't expect it," Noakhali Express head coach Khaled Mahmud said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

"If anyone thinks Mahmudullah Riyad went unsold, that's not entirely correct. Every team had limitations. With 14 players each in A and B categories and restrictions that we couldn't pick more than two, we had to choose based on strategy. But Mahmudullah was always in our plans. A player of his calibre should be in any team's plans," said Rangpur Riders director Shanian Taneem.