Unmukt Chand roped in by Chattogram in Bangladesh T20 League Draft 

Unmukt Chand, the 2012 Under-19 World Series-winning captain of India, will become the first Indian to feature in the Bangladesh T20 League as Chattogram roped him in the players’ draft held on Wednesday. 

It was earlier reported that the flamboyant batter had registered his name for the draft. Indian Cricket Board contracted cricketers are not permitted to play in foreign leagues but Chand quit playing domestic cricket in India after signing a three year deal with USA in 2022. 

Chattogram picked Chand in the second round from the overseas players’ category for the forthcoming edition of the tournament which is scheduled to commence from January 6. 

"We have picked him( Chand) as we wanted to have an Indian in our squad plus we can also have a fan base in India," Chattogram owner Rifatuzzaman told the media after the draft.

Comilla, who won the title in 2019-2020 had the first pick in the draft. They opted for the in-form wicket keeper batter Liton Das, having earlier roped in Mustafizur Rahman as their direct signing. 

"Yes, he (Liton) played for us but we have picked Mustafizur (as direct signing) as we wanted to make sure that our bowling strength is not compromised. In that sense you can say we are lucky to have the first call and get Litton," Comilla head coach Mohammad Salahuddin said during the break in between the draft. 

Barishal went after Mahmadullah and Shakib Al Hasan (direct signing) while Mushfiqur Rahim and Mashrafe Mortaza (direct signing) went to Sylhet. Mominul Haque remained unsold during the event. 

Bangladesh Cricket Board amidst all the noise eventually managed a franchise for Dhaka which had Taskin Ahmed and Soumya Sarkar among their picks.  

Squads

Dhaka: Taskin Ahmed, Chamika Karunaratne, Dilshan Munaweera, Mohammad Mithun, Soumya Sarkar, Shoriful Islam, Arafat Sunny, Nasir Hossain, Al Amin Hossain, Shan Masud, Ahmad Shazad, Alok Kapali, Monir Hossain Khan, Ariful Haque, Muktar Ali, Mizanur Rahman, Delwar Hossain, Usman Gani, Slaman Ershad.

Chattogram: Afif Hossain, Vishwa Fernando, Ashan Praiyanjan, Curtis Campher, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Shuvagata Hom, Mehedy Hasan Rana, Mehedy Maruf, Ziaur Rahman, Maxwell Patrick O'Dowd, Unmukt Chand, Taijul Islam, Abu Zayed Rahi, Forhad Reza, Tawfiq Khan Tushar.

Barishal: Shakib Al Hasan, Ifthekhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim, Ibrahim Jadran, Karim Janat, Omar Kadir, Rakheem Cornwall, Kesrik William, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Fazle Mahmud Rabbi, Hayder Ali, Chaturanga De Silva, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Saif Hasan, Kazi Anik, Snjamul Islam, Salman Hossain.

Khulna: Tamim Iqbal, Avishka Fernando, Wahab Riaz, Naseem Shah, Azam Khan, Mohammd Siafuddin, Yasir Ali Chowdury, Nasum Ahmed, Nahidul Islam, Munim Shariar, Sabbir Rahman, Dashun Sanaka, Paul Van Meekreen, Shafiqul Islam, Pritom Kumer, Habibur Rahman Sohan, Mahmudul Hasan Joy.

Sylhet: Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Haris, Rayan Burl, Kamindu Mendis, Thisra Perera, Dhananjaya De Silva, Mushfiqur Rahim, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Nabil Samad, Towhid Hridoy, Rubel Hossain, Tom Moors, Gulbadin Naib, Zakir Hasan, Nazmul Islam Apu, Akbar Ali, Md. Shofullah, Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Comilla: Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Rezwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Khusdil Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Abrar Ahmed, Liton Das, Mosaddek Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Imrul Kayes, Md. Ashiqur Zaman, Jaker Ali Anik, Shaun Williams, Chadwik Wlaton, Md Saikat Ali, Abu Haider Rony, Nayeem Hasan, Md. Mukidul Islam Mugdho, Mahidul Islam Ankon,

Rangpur: Nurul Hasan malik, Shoaib Malik, Pathum Nissanka, Haris Rouf, Mohamamd Nawaz, Jefry Vandersay, Sikandar Raza, Sk Mahedi Hasan, Hasan Mahmud, Mohammad Naim Sheikh, Rakibul Hasan Jr, Md. Shamim Hossain Patwary, Ripon Mondol, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aron Jones, Rony Talukder, Pervez Hossaim Imon, Robiul Haque, Alauddin Babu.