Mashrafe Mortaza IPL's most expensive Bangladesh player - Mashrafe Mortaza, the Bangladesh allrounder, is the first player up for sale from Pool F. There were no bids for him initially but just before the hammer went down, Kolkata made a bid at the base price of $50,000. It was the start of the most dramatic sale at the auction.
Kings XI Punjab entered the race, competing against Kolkata, for Mortaza. The bids spiralled slowly towards $400,000 and the auctioneer asked Punjab if they want to go $410,000, Priety Zinta nodded. The raises were slow and the bidding went on and on and on. Kolkata touched the $500,00 mark. Punjab went further at $550,000. The atmosphere in the room grew quieter as the bids rose and the auctioneer attempted to speed up the process. Kolkata was the first to bid $600,000 for Mortaza at which point Punjab bowed out of the race. It was the longest lot in the auction, almost as long as a short chess game.
Bet there are celebrations in Narail, Mortaza's hometown. What a moment for Mortaza, he's the first Bangladesh player to be bought by the IPL. Wonder what Shakib is thinking? He's had such a fabulous year with bat and ball and yet there were no bidders for him. Do the franchises look at ICC rankings? Mortaza's base price was $50,000 and he went for $600,000.
Tags: Bangladesh, Expensive, IPLs, Mashrafe, Mortaza, Player