Former national skipper Mohammad Ashraful was not picked up by any team in the newly-introduced players draft for the upcoming edition of Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL), the franchise-based first-class tournament.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Saturday (November 18) opted to introduce the draft to distribute the players amongst the four zones who will take part in the seventh edition of the tournament.
Earlier, the national selectors were given the responsibility of distributing the best performers of the NCL among the four zones that they belonged to but BCB opted to alter the system as some of the franchises were weakened as most of their players were involved with the national team.
The 34-year-old was initially slapped with an eight-year ban by a special anti-corruption tribunal set up by the board in July 2014 for his involvement in match and spot-fixing in BPL 2013.
A one-member appeal panel had then reduced his ban to five years, with the last two years to be reprieved upon producing a certificate of good conduct from the ICC through participation in the ‘anti-corruption education and training programme’,
Ashraful, however, was allowed to take part in the National Cricket League, country’s traditional first-class competition and Dhaka Premier League the last two years – a period during which, he made all the right noises, scoring five centuries in the DPL- club based 50-over competition.
However, his poor show in the longer format in the domestic arena continued and he could score only 253 runs in 10 innings at an average of 25.30 for Dhaka Metropolis in the last edition of NCL.
Ashraful, who featured in all six matches of the last NCL, also picked 11 wickets but his efforts didn’t attract the franchises.
A shocked Ashraful took the rejection in his stride and analyzed that his poor form may in the NCL may have been the reason for not being picked by any franchise.
“It is surely disappointing to miss the BCL,” Ashraful told Cricbuzz when his attention was drawn about it.
”I couldn’t perform well in last National Cricket League. I think this may be the reason for anyone not picking me for BCL,'” he told the New Age.
The four teams which participate in the tournament -East Zone owned by Islami Bank, Central Zone owned by Walton, South Zone owned by Prime Bank and North Zone owned by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
The tournament starts on November 21 with Prime Bank South Zone taking on Walton Central Zone at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium and BCB North Zone playing against Islami Bank East Zone at Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi.
