Seven Bangladesh players, including Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, Rishad Hossain and Nahid Rana, have made it into the final list for the IPL auction—featuring a few surprise names as well.
Despite being included in the initial shortlist, Shakib Al Hasan has failed to make the final cut. This means the veteran allrounder will not be returning to the IPL this season. As expected, Mustafizur Rahman is part of the final list, joined by six other Bangladesh cricketers, including some unexpected inclusions.
Along with Mustafiz, the final auction list features Taskin Ahmed, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana, Rakibul Hasan and Shoriful Islam.
The biggest surprise is undoubtedly Rakibul. The left-arm spinner, part of Bangladesh’s 2020 U19 World Cup–winning squad, has yet to debut for the senior national team. He has appeared in only three international T20s at the 2023 Asian Games, where Bangladesh did not field their regular national side.
Since his youth days, Rakibul has consistently been active in domestic cricket. He has regularly played for the Emerging Team, High Performance squad and Bangladesh A, delivering steady performances. However, his BPL record is not particularly notable—16 wickets in 22 matches. In last season’s BPL, he claimed five wickets in nine games, conceding over 8.5 runs per over.
Overall, he has taken 69 wickets in 69 T20 matches at an economy rate of 6.90. He has no experience playing in overseas leagues.
Any eligible cricketer can register for the initial IPL auction list. The final shortlist, however, includes only those players for whom franchises express interest. This year, 1,390 players registered for the initial list, but only 350 made it to the final one. Rakibul’s inclusion among them has raised curiosity.
Of the 350 final-list players, 240 are Indian and 110 are overseas cricketers.
A maximum of 77 players will be picked at the auction, with only 31 overseas slots available.
Among the 240 Indian cricketers, 224 are uncapped. Among the uncapped overseas players, only 14 have been shortlisted—including Rakibul.
Uncapped players are defined as those who have never played for their national team, haven’t played international cricket in the last five years, or haven’t held a central contract during that period.
Mustafiz has placed himself in the highest base-price bracket, with a reserve price of INR 2 crore. A total of 40 cricketers are listed in this category.
Mustafizur has played eight IPL seasons. He went unsold in the mega-auction last year but later joined Delhi Capitals as a replacement for Jake Fraser-McGurk. He took four wickets in three matches for them. The year before, he picked up 14 wickets in nine matches for Chennai Super Kings. Overall, he has 65 wickets from 60 IPL matches at an economy rate of 8.13.
The 30-year-old pacer is currently playing in the UAE’s ILT20, where he has impressed in his first two matches. Considering his performances for club and country this year, IPL teams are expected to show interest. However, his name has been placed in the second set of fast bowlers—had he been in the first set, his chances of being picked would have been higher.
Taskin, Rishad, Tanzim, Shoriful and Nahid are all listed in the category with a base price of INR 75 lakh. Rishad, who is set to play in the Big Bash League, is in the second set of spinners. Taskin is in the third set of fast bowlers, Tanzim and Nahid in the fourth set, and Shoriful in the fifth. Rakibul is in the fourth set of uncapped spinners with a base price of INR 30 lakh.
Realistically, none of the Bangladeshi players—aside from Mustafiz and possibly Rishad—have strong chances of being picked. Many of their names may not even come up before teams finish filling their slots.
This year’s IPL auction will take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
