IPL 2020 Auction: Bangladesh keeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim declines IPL offer

Bangladesh wicket-keeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has opted to not play in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 2020 IPL Auction will take place on December 19 in Kolkata. There are 971 players (713 Indians and 258 overseas) who are set to go under the hammer. But Rahim has decided to pull his name out. The franchises have released their retention list and 73 slots need to be filled now.

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Mushfiqur Rahim rejects IPL again

Rahim has been a part of the IPL Auction twice, but he went unsold both times in spite of having a low base price. In the recently concluded T20I series between India and Bangladesh, he played a delightful knock against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The knock helped the Bangla Tigers to their maiden T20I victory versus the Men in Blue after eight consecutive defeats. He smashed pacer Khaleel Ahmed for four fours to end the game. The knock was likely to make him more attracted to franchises this time.

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The 32-year-old Mushfiqur joins the list of big names such as Mitchell Starc and Joe Root who are not interested in the IPL this time around. The Bangladesh star will now be playing for the Khulna Tigers in the 2019-20 edition of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) which will start on December 11. The upcoming IPL auction is set to feature six players from Bangladesh, namely Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Taskin Ahmed, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman and Soumya Sarkar.

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Mahmudullah had been in the auction previously but he failed to attract any bidder as well. Bangladesh star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has also been released by the Sunrisers due to a ban imposed on him by the ICC. He was banned because he failed to report corrupt approaches. Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak and Mohammad Ashraful are the other players from Bangladesh, who have played in the IPL. As far as the IPL auction is concerned, Kolkata will be hosting the same for the first time.