A total of 270 cricketers have been placed in five categories for the auction of the upcoming Domestic Three (D3) tournament, scheduled to begin with the T20 format in December.
The auction is set to be held at 11 AM on October 26 at the Sheraton Hotel in the capital, with six teams set to build their squads for the three-format competition.
Several national stars, including Mustafizur Rahman, NaJmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Das, Taskin Ahmed, MehIDY Hasan Miraz, Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam and Jaker Ali Anik have been placed in the highest Category A.
Experienced batter Mahmudullah Riyad, however, has been listed in Category C, alongside Nasir Hossain, Shuvagata Hom, Aminul Islam Biplob, Naeem Ahmed, Akbar Ali, Azizul Hakim Tamim and Mrittujoy Chowdhury.
Category B features 25 cricketers, including Sabbir Rahman, Shadman Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Afif Hossain, Parvez Hossain Emon, Naim Sheikh and Ebadot Hossain.
According to the list, 68 players are in Category C, 53 in Category D and the largest group of 101 in Category E.
Young cricketers Jawad Abrar, Adil Bin Siddique, Rifat Baig, Kalam Siddiki Alen and Maruf Mridha have been placed in Category D. Several members of the Bangladesh Under-19 setup are also included in the auction list, with many of them assigned to Category E.
The tournament is expected to pave a platform for the young players to compete alongside experienced domestic and national cricketers.
Ahead of the auction, the six participating teams were allowed to recruit one icon player each.
H Blue Star selected Nurul Hasan Sohan, Walton picked Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Seven Rings Cement secured Mushfiqur Rahim, Acme chose Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Fortune signed Towhid Hridoy and Citizen Bank selected Naeem.
Each team will have a 23-member squad for all three formats of the competition.
The T20 tournament is scheduled for December, followed by the four-day Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) in January and the 50-over competition in May. Teams will use the same squad throughout the three formats.
The coaching panels have also been finalized, with established coaches Mohammad Salahuddin, Sohel Islam, Hannan Sarkar, Mizanur Rahman Babul, Mohammad Ashraful, Faisal Hossain Dickens, Ashikur Rahman Majumder and Talha Jubair set to take charge of the six teams.