The 10th edition of IPL is running successfully along with its glory. Shakib and Fizz are also going well with their individual performances. These two are the only envoy of Bangladesh cricket for the last few seasons of IPL. Franchises recruit overseas players in every year auction. Sometimes they have included some names from Bangladesh as well. But that didn’t happen on a regular basis.
Here is the total scenario of Bangladeshis in IPL history.
Abdur Razzak
This left-arm spinner was the pioneer of Bangladeshi cricketers in IPL. He was included in RCB in the very first season of IPL with a base price of US$50000. But he could make his appearance in the main eleven for only once and went for 29 runs in his 2 over. That was his once and for all IPL experience.
Mohammad Ashraful
Former Bangladesh captain Ashraful was included in IPL in its 2nd edition in 2009. He was brought into the Mumbai Indians squad for US$75000. He was named for the main XI just for a single game, in which he was able to make only 2 runs out of 10 balls he has faced. That was so unlike him and was never considered for the further editions.
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza
Bangladesh ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was the wonder of 2009 IPL auction. His has a base price of US$50000 at the beginning. But two franchises KKR and King XI Punjab were involved in a remarkable bidding war over him. KKR won that war by biding US$600000 for him.
Actually, Mashrafe was more likely a market capturing bait for the Bangladeshi audience. If that want the fact, then why would some spend that much money to buy a reserve bench player?
Though, he had a chance to make himself into the XI once in the latter part of that season. But one single over demolished his IPL career. He went for 21 runs in the last over of the match and let the game through. After that horrible night, KKR management didn’t consider him for rest of the season and also for the further seasons.
Shakib Al Hasan
The number one all-rounder, Shakib is a regular face for any franchise t20 leagues all around the globe. He was added to the KKR squad for the first time in 2011 with a price of US$425000. Then he was a mandatory part of that franchise till 2017. He delivered his best whenever the team needed him most. His formidable all-round performance helped KKR to win two league titles in 2012 and 2014.
In IPL 2018, he is playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad with a price of 2 Crores in Indian Rupees. So far, his present franchise is quite pleased with his service. Hope he will never frustrate them as he never did so.
Tamim Iqbal
Dashing opener Tamim had the worst experience in IPL ever among his national mates. Although, Tamim was included into the Pune Warriors squad for US$50000 in 2012 and 2013 seasons. But he never had a chance to prove himself in the field.
Mustafizur Rahman
He is Bangladesh’s latest contribution to IPL. This cutter master amazed the whole worlds from the words go with his extraordinary bowling capability. He entered into IPL by Sunrisers Hyderabad with a price of 1.4 Crore Indian Rupees in 2016.
He was one of the few reasons why his team got the championship trophy. His performance with the ball has rewarded him as the rising player of the tournament of that year.
But he couldn’t be that much effective in the next season due to his uncertain physical condition. This year he is performing for the Mumbai Indians. So far, except one match he has done prominently well.
After reading this for a while, some queries can pop into your mind “What went wrong for those earlier great names from Bangladesh cricket in IPL? Actually, they were in that completion in such a hard time. Few big names from all over the globe were making their mark on a regular basis. So, it was tough for anyone to take over others place with a poor performance.
If they have got few more opportunities to prove themselves, the story might be different. However, we hope more names from Bangladesh will enlight country’s name in the upcoming seasons of IPL as like Shakib and MUstafiz are doing right now.