Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) players’ draft scheduled for January will take place on 23 November. In a BCB media release, seven teams have each made one direct signing ahead of the draft.
Additionally, several cricketers, both local and foreign, have been signed by teams outside of the draft. Between January 5 and February 16, 2023, the Bangladesh Premier League will hold its ninth edition.
Shakib Al Hasan (Fortune Barishal) and Mustafizur Rahman (Comilla Victorians) will play for their old franchises. While Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza, and Nurul Hasan will play for Khulna Tigers, Sylhet Strikers, and Rangpur Riders.
BPL 2023: A Review
Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season 9 will begin in January 2023. However, the franchises started to rebuild their teams before the draft.
Before the draft, the teams had already recruited cricketers through direct signing. Subsequently, in recent years, many local and foreign cricketers have been able to sign up with teams directly. Others on the list were not drafted.
The Dhaka Dominators, Chattogram Challengers, Fortune Barishal, Khulna Tigers, Sylhet Strikers, and Rangpur Riders are the seven teams competing in the BPL 2023. There were 137 players sold and 300 players from home and abroad were auctioned.
There were more than 15-22 players bought by each team. However, some top performers from BPL 2022 were not selected. Ashraful and Mominul Islam stand out among them. The rejection list also included young opening batter Tanjid Hasan Tamim.
Some of the key overseas sign-ups include Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Fortune Barishal), Unmukt Chand (Chattogram Challengers), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Nabi (Comilla Victorians), Dasun Shanaka, Naseem Shah (Khulna Tigers), Shan Masood (Dhaka Dominators), Shoaib Malik, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Nawaz (Rangpur Riders), Mohammad Amir, and Dhananjaya de Silva (Sylhet Strikers)
New Franchises for Mashrafe and Tamim
Former captain Mashrafe Mortaza has joined Sylhet Strikers, and a source close to the team has said that he will lead the team. During the previous season, Mashrafe played for Minister Group Dhaka.
The Premier Bank Khulna Tigers will be led by Tamim Iqbal, who captained Dhaka the previous season. Shakib Al Hasan, captain of Fortune Barishal’s T20 and Test teams, has been retained by the team. Rangpur Riders bought Nurul Hasan, a player for Fortune Barishal the BPL 2022.
BPL 2023: Players Category and Salaries
Table: Salary range of BPL players under different groups
| Player Category | Base Salary (Taka) |
| A | 80 lakh |
| B | 50 lakh |
| C | 30 lakh |
| D | 20 lakh |
| E | 15 lakh |
| F | 10 lakh |
| G | 5 lakh |
Players this year have been divided into seven categories, ranging from “A” to “G.” This season, players in the “A” category will receive 80 lakh taka. For players in the “B” category, the BPL 2023 wage is 50 lakh taka. The compensation for categories “C,” “D,” “E,” “F,” and “G” is, accordingly, 30, 20, 15, 10, and 5 lakhs.
BPL 2023 Teams
1. Dhaka Dominators
There were 22 players bought by the Dhaka Dominators, including three foreigners. Taskin, Chamika Karunaratne, and Dilshan Munaweera were signed due to their recent strong performances at the Asia Cup and World Cup.
2. Comilla Victorians
3 times BPL champion Comilla Victorians have spent a large sum of money as they have acquired the majority of the top players, including Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Nabi, and Mostafizur Rahman. Their team consists of 19 players, including 7 foreign players.
3. Chattogram Challengers
Chattogram Challengers set up their team with 16 players, including five foreign players who were retained. Afif Hussian is the team’s premier player, hence the team will expect him to do well if they want to challenge for the title.
4. Fortune Barishal
Fortune Barishal has not yet won the BPL title. But it appears that they will look to do so in BPL 2023. 22 cricketers, from Mahmudullah Riyad to Shakib Al Hasan, make up the side, which is made up of a mixture of old and new talent. Ten of them are from Afghanistan, Pakistan, West Indies, and Sri Lanka.
5. Sylhet Strikers
Sylhet Strikers will be the team’s name for the 2023–2025 season. This club, which was founded in 2012, has seen 7 name changes in the last 10 years. Mashrafe bin Mortaza served as the captain of the 20-man squad. On foreign players, though, they have largely blown their budget.
6. Rangpur Riders
Rangpur Raiders, who won the fifth BPL season by defeating Dhaka Dynamites in the final match, spent mostly on top-tier foreign players and average Bangladeshi players. They have purchased 19 players in total, including 7 international players.
