Pakistan's star legspinner Yasir Shah has been signed up by Dhaka Dynamites as the draft for the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) ended on Thursday.
Yasir will join Pakistan teammates Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Khan, Shahzaib Hasan and Nasir Jamshed in a strong Dhaka side which also includes Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara and local hero Mustafizur Rehman.
Yasir, who has picked up 61 wickets for Pakistan in just 10 Tests, is being billed as a top draw by the BPL organisers along with T20 captain Shahid Afridi.
A total of 16 Pakistani players were picked up by the various franchises from the list of 53 who had thrown their names in the hat.
The other notable pick was Saeed Ajmal, who will play alongside Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Amir for Chittagoing VIkings.
The 2015 edition of the BPL will start on November 24 and would feature six new franchises, including in Dhaka and Chittagong, backed by big companies.
The BPL, which started in 2012, was suspended indefinitely after the second edition amid revelations that former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful and four others were involved in fixing matches.
The tournament, which drew talent from around the world, was also tainted by salary issues, including franchises failing to pay match fees to scores of players.
Teams
Barisal Bulls
Mahmudullah (icon), Chris Gayle, Brendan Taylor, Kevon Cooper, Evin Lewis, Seekkuge Prasanna, Mohammad Sami, Imad Wasim, Sabbir Rahman, Sohag Gazi, Taijul Islam, Rony Talukdar, Al-Amin Hossain, Shahriar Nafees, Mehedi Maruf, Nadif Chowdhury, Mohammad Sharifullah, Sajidul Islam.
Chittagong Vikings
Tamim Iqbal (icon), Umar Akmal, Chamara Kapugedera, Mohammad Amir, Elton Chigumbura, Kamran Akmal, Robin Peterson, Saeed Ajmal, Jeevan Mendis, Anamul Haque, Taskin Ahmed, Ziaur Rahman, Naeem Islam, Enamul Haque jnr, Shafiul Islam, Nafees Iqbal, Elias Sunny, Yasir Ali Chowdhury, Asif Ahmed.
Comilla Victorians
Mashrafe Mortaza (icon), Sunil Narine, Shoaib Malik, Marlon Samuels, Ahmed Shehzad, Krishmar Santokie, Andre Russell, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lahiru Thirimanne, Darren Stevens, Liton Das, Imrul Kayes, Shuvagata Hom, Sanjamul Islam, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Ariful Haque, Mahmudul Hasan, Naeem Islam jnr, Abu Hider, Dhiman Ghosh.
Dhaka Dynamites
Nasir Hossain (icon), Kumar Sangakkara, Ryan ten Doeschate, Mohammad Irfan, Yasir Shah, Nasir Jamshed, Sohail Khan, Dawid Malan, Shahzaib Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman, Mosharraf Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat, Shamsur Rahman, Saikat Ali, Farhad Reza, Nabil Samad, Abul Hasan, Irfan Shukkur.
Rangpur Riders
Shakib Al Hasan (icon), Lendl Simmons, Darren Sammy, Thisara Perera, Wahab Riaz, Sachithra Senanayake, Mohammad Nabi, Soumya Sarkar, Arafat Sunny, Mohammad Mithun, Muktar Ali, Saqlain Sajib, Jahurul Islam, Abu Jayed Chowdhury, Murad Khan, Rasel Al Mamun.
Sylhet Superstars
Mushfiqur Rahim (icon), Shahid Afridi, Ravi Bopara, Brad Hodge, Ajantha Mendis, Chris Jordan, Sohail Tanvir, Joshua Cobb, Rubel Hossain, Mominul Haque, Abdur Razzak, Nurul Hasan, Mohammad Shahid, Najmul Islam, Junaid Siddique, Nazmul Hossain Milon, Abu Sayem.