IPL 2021: Bangladesh cricketer Mushfiqur Rahim stays away from the auction after going unsold 13 times

Mushfiqur Rahim, the veteran Bangladesh batsman, has decided against registering in the auction for the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Bogra-born wicketkeeper has been part of the auction since the inaugural edition in 2008 but hasn’t found a buyer ever since.

Even last year, he remained unsold at a base price of INR 75 lakhs. The upcoming IPL auction is set to take place on Thursday, February 18 in Chennai. NIBCO, the company which handles Mushfiqur’s account, confirmed about Rahim pulling out of the tournament.

“We have not made any submission for Mushfiqur Rahim for IPL this time,” an official from the NIBCO was quoted as saying to New Age on Saturday.

Mushfiqur Rahim’s performance in T20s  

Mushfiqur’s credentials in T20s aren’t the worst by any stretch of the imagination. In 202 T20 matches since his debut in 2006, the 33-year-old veteran has notched 4288 runs at an average and strike-rate of 28.97 and 127.96 respectively.

His top score of an unbeaten 98 came against the Cumilla Warriors when he represented the Khulna Tigers in the 2019-20 edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). It’s also pertinent to note that he’s the all-time leading run-scorer in the BPL, scoring 2274 runs with 15 half-centuries to his name.

Mushfiqur, recently, was a part of Beximco Dhaka in the inaugural edition of the Bangabandhu T20 Cup. Though his team couldn’t make the final, Rahim showed his class with the bat in hand. In 10 matches, he scored 287 runs at an average and strike-rate of 35.87 and 112.10 respectively.

Back in 2019, he also played a match-winning hand against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The seasoned campaigner is currently playing in the opening Test against West Indies at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.

Though he couldn’t score a whole lot of runs in both the innings of the game, he became the top run-scorer for his nation in Tests. In 85 Test matches, Mushfiqur has 4469 runs with seven tons.

He has two double tons and 21 half-centuries to his name at an average of 36.63. Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh’s leading run-scorer across formats, is behind him with 4414 runs.