KKR fetch Shakib, Liton

GBNEWS24DESK//

Bangladesh opener Liton Das and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan were bought by Kolkata Knight Riders during the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Kochi on Friday ahead of the 2023 season.

Both Shakib and Liton were acquired by Kolkata for their base prices of rupees 50 Lakh and 1.5 crores, respectively, after they remained unsold initially. Kolkata were also the only bidder for Liton and Shakib.

“Swagoto Litton da,” which translates to ‘Welcome brother Litton’, wrote KKR from their official Facebook page right after acquiring the batters’ services. KKR also did not forget to welcome back all-rounder Shakib as they wrote: “Shakib da (brother) comes home.”

After being overlooked in the auction of the previous edition of the money-spinning franchise-based league, Shakib returned to KKR and will be joined by teammate Liton, who has been picked by an IPL franchise for the very first time.

This edition of IPL will feature three Bangladeshis for the first time ever with Mustafizur Rahman already retained by Delhi Capitals earlier.

Overall, Liton became only the seventh Bangladeshi to be picked by an IPL side after Mohammad Ashraful, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib, Tamim Iqbal, and Mustafizur Rahman.

However, aside from Liton and Shakib, pacer Taskin Ahmed also went under the hammer in this auction, but there were no takers for the tall pacer.

The franchises were not eager to bid for Taskin, who had a base price of 50 lakh rupees. A total of four Bangladeshi players were named in the IPL auction among the 405 cricketers. Afif Hossain, also drafted at 50 lakh rupees base price category, did not go under the hammer.

Meanwhile, England all-rounder Sam Curran became the most expensive ever buy in the players’ auction. Curran returned to the Punjab Kings for the staggering sum of 185 million Indian rupees ($2.23 million) following a fierce bidding war involving the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.

The left-arm quick and attacking middle-order batter was among a selection of the world’s top cricketers going under the hammer in this auction.

His purchase set a local currency record, surpassing South African all-rounder Chris Morris who was snatched up by Rajasthan Royals for 162.5 million rupees in 2021.

The all-rounder debuted in the IPL with Punjab in 2019 and then had a successful stint with Chennai Super Kings but parted ways after a back injury and missed the 2022 edition.