IPL 2018: 5 players who made their mark in the Bangladesh Premier League
The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) recently came to a halt, after bearing witness to some stellar individual performances and keenly contested matches. A lot of players in the BPL would have been looking to audition for the auctions of the grandest stage of them all, the Indian Premier League (IPL). With the auction retention policy now clear, scouts from all IPL franchisees would have keenly monitored the premier league on the other side of India's Eastern border.
Rangpur Riders bagged their maiden title in the tournament, after Chris Gayle steamrolled the Dhaka Warriors in the finals with an innings that you must watch to believe. It's always exciting to witness an evenly contested final, but hey, no-one is complaining after having witnessed the Gayle-storm at its destructive best.
The tournament spanned for over a month and encompassed some exceptional games of cricket. The Indian Premier League couldn't come sooner now! Let's take a look at five players who would have caught the eye of the IPL franchisees and are likely to cause a stir at the IPL auctions of 2018.
#5 Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan became the first Afghanistan national to play in the Indian Premier League last season, when he donned the orange of the Sunrisers Hyderabad. His spin bowling baffled many batsmen, and Rashid emerged as one of the bowlers of the season, with 17 wickets in 14 games at a reasonable economy rate of 6.62.
His exploits in the IPL saw him become one of the most sought out players in the BPL. He was bagged by the Comilla Victorians, who went in to the playoffs as the league table toppers. They sorely missed ace bowler Rashid Khan in the playoffs, as they crashed out of the tournament with two back-to-back defeats.
Rashid bagged only 6 wickets in his 7 games, but he hardly gave any runs away with a phenomenal economy of 4.46, which was the lowest across the league. His leg-breaks and tricky googlies can baffle even the best of batsmen.
With the Sunrisers seeing the likes of David Warner, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuvraj Singh and Shikhar Dhawan in their squad, it will be interesting to see whether Rashid Khan is picked for retention. If not, we are likely to see a lot of franchisees battle for the lethal Afghani spinner in the auctions.