Unmukt Chand, the captain of India’s 2012 Under-19 World Cup-winning team and the first Indian to play in the BBL, will begin the 2019 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season by taking the field for Chattogram Challengers.Chand, 29, was picked up at the draft in Dhaka on Wednesday, with the franchise keen on having an Indian player to tap into the fan base in the country, according to franchise owner Rifatuzzaman.Chand's eligibility comes from having retired from all forms of cricket under the BCCI's ambit in September last year. He currently plays league cricket in the USA in a bid to qualify for the national team, which could happen at some stage in 2024. Chand lives in San Francisco, and has also signed a multi-year deal with the USA's Major League Cricket that is set to kick off next year.
Challengers picked Chand in the second round from the foreign players' category for the upcoming edition of the BPL which is scheduled to begin from January 6.Comilla Victorians, the 2019-2020 champions, who had the first pick in the draft, opted for the in-form Litton Das, having earlier roped in Mustafizur Rahman as their direct signing."Yes, he (Liton) played for us and 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," Victorians head coach Mohammad Salahuddin told Cricbuzz during a break in between the draft.Fortune Barishal bagged Mahmudullah and Shakib Al Hasan (direct signing) while Mushfiqur Rahim and Mashrafe Mortaza (direct signing) went to Sylhet Strikers. Mominul Haque remained unsold in the players' draft.After lot of drama the Bangladesh Cricket Board eventually managed a franchise for Dhaka as Rupa Fabrics bagged the franchise rights, although they made the payment after the stipulated time-frame. They roped in Taskin Ahmed and Soumya Sarkar among their picks.
