Bluestar pick Sohel, Salahuddin lands Fortune

Ace Bluestar struck first in Tuesday’s Domestic Three Trophy (Domestic 3) coaching draft, snapping up Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) panel coach Sohel Islam with the opening call before Fortune Group eventually secured Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)-winning coach Mohammad Salahuddin with the fourth pick.

The six franchises finalised their head coaches from a 35-member BCB list at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, with Bluestar winning the lottery for the first call and immediately opting for Sohel.

Bluestar also appointed Salahuddin Ahmed Ujjal and Ashikur Rahman Majumdar as assistant coaches, while Joy Bisshash was named physiotherapist.

Salahuddin, overlooked by the first three teams, was eventually snapped up by Fortune. Former national captain Mohammad Ashraful and Abdul Karim Jewel will assist him, while Bayjedul Islam Khan will serve as physiotherapist.

ACME Group then selected former Bangladesh captain Rajin Saleh as head coach, with Tarek Aziz Khan and Faisal Hossain as assistants. Abu Reza Md Shoriful Hasan was appointed physiotherapist.

Citizens Bank chose Mizanur Rahman Babul as head coach, with Nazmul Hossain and Mohammad Selim as assistants and Khairul Islam as physiotherapist.

Seven Rings Cement appointed Bangladesh bowling coach Talha Jubair as head coach, with former national selector Hannan Sarkar and Humayun Kabir Shahin as assistants. Delwar Hossain was named physiotherapist.

Walton completed the line-up by selecting former Bangladesh left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak as head coach, with Tushar Imran and Dollar Mahmud as assistants and Enamul Haque as physiotherapist.

Razzak’s new assignment begins with the National Cricket League, where he will lead Khulna. Bangladesh’s leading wicket-taker in first-class cricket will then take up his D Three role.

Hannan, who guided Rajshahi Warriors to the latest BPL title and Abahani to the 2024-25 domestic crown, was among the 35 candidates but was not selected as a head coach.

The Bangladesh Under-19 head coach will instead serve as an assistant at Seven Rings.

The D Three Trophy brings first-class, one-day and T20 cricket under one umbrella. Each franchise has paid Tk2.5 crore annually for ownership, with the competition beginning with T20 cricket on 15 December, followed by four-day matches in January and one-day cricket in May.

Icon players present at the draft included Mehidy Hasan Miraz for Walton, Nurul Hasan Sohan for Bluestar and Mushfiqur Rahim for Seven Rings.

However, Bluestar and Fortune will initially have to manage national-team commitments involving their coaches. Ashraful and Talha are currently with Bangladesh in Japan, while the national side will tour South Africa when the D Three season begins.

D Three Trophy committee chairman Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir said the two coaches would work with their franchises whenever national duties allowed. Teams can also bring in coaches who were not selected in the draft during their absence.

The ownership model is designed to bring all three formats under one structure while reducing the BCB’s domestic cricket expenditure.