Shahid Afridi most expensive player in Bangladesh Premier League

Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi has become the most expensive player in the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League auction. Dhaka Gladiators bid US $700,000 for the leg-spinning all-rounder, who was the target of all six teams competing in the new competition.

Afridi, however, will only be available for the final two days of the opening BPL campaign as he will be on national team duty against England in the United Arab Emirates. "Shahid Afridi was bought for $700,000 dollars, the highest in the BPL auction, by our team Dhaka Gladiators," team spokesman Minhaz Khan told Agence France-Presse.

Sahid Afridi 

Hard hitting West Indies batsman Chris Gayle was sold to Barisal Burners for $551,100 and Marlon Samuels to Duronto Rajshahi for $360,000. according to live telecast by private Channel 9 Television.

West Indian Kieron Pollard was sold to Dhaka Gladiators for $300,000 and Bangladeshi allrounder Nasir Hossain for $200,000 to Khulna.

Ex-Pakistani captain Shoaib Malik and West Indies batsman Dwayne Bravo each landed $150,000.

Other notable names include Muttiah Muralitharan ($100,000 to Chittagong Kings), Brad Hodge ($140,000 to Barisal Burners) and Sanath Jayasuria ($110,000 to Khulna Royal Bengals).

A total of 111 overseas players and 80 local cricketers were put on auction with teams given a maximum budget of $2million and able to buy no more than eight overseas players. Seventeen foreign players were put on auction with a base price of $100,000 including Sri Lankan greats Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, New Zealander Scott Styris and Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor. Stuart MacGill, the former Australia leg-spinner, was one of 36 players auctioned with a base price of $50,000. He was sold to Dhaka at the base price.

Bangladesh internationals Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Ashraful, Shahriar Nafees and Alok Kapali had been selected as icon players for six franchises and were excluded from auction.

Game On, an Indian company, bought the rights of the first six editions of BPL for around $44 million dollars last year. Six franchises were bought by Bangladeshi companies with a minimum price of one million dollars.
Some International  Players Auctioned for BPL T20

Pakistan
Shoaib Malik (Chittagong $150,000)
Kamran Akmal (Sylhet $100,000)
Rana Naved-ul Hasan (Dhaka $100,000)
Sohail Tanvir (Sylhet $100,000)
Saeed Ajmal (Dhaka $100,000)

West Indies
Dwayne Bravo (Chittagong $150,000)
Chris Gayle (Barisal Burners $551,100)
Marlon Samuels (Duronto Rajshahi $360,000)
Kieron Pollard (Dhaka $360,000)

Australia 
Brad Hodge (Barisal $140,000)

Sri Lanka
Sanath Jayasuriya (Khulna) $110,000)
Muttiah Muralitharan (Chittagong $100,000)

South Africa
Herschelle Gibbs (Khulna for $100,000)