Kolkata Knight Riders purchased Bangladesh wicket-keeper batter Litton Das and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan during the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction held in Kochi ahead of the 2023 season.
Shakib has returned to KKR after missing the previous season, while Litton became the seventh Bangladeshi set to play IPL, following Mohammad Ashraful, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, and Mustafizur Rahman.
Bangladesh premier bowler Mustafizur Rahman has already been retained by his franchise Delhi Capital in November.
After initially going unsold, both Shakib and Litton were picked by Kolkata for base prices of Rs 50 Lakh and 1.5 crores, respectively. In addition, Kolkata was the sole bidder for Litton and Shakib.
Shakib made his debut in IPL with KKR way back in 2011, stayed with the franchise till 2017, winning two championship titles in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
In 2018, he was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad at the auction and played there for two seasons. After missing out from the 2020 edition due to an ICC ban, Shakib returned to IPL in 2021, again getting picked by KKR.
On the other hand, this will be Liton’s first stint at the IPL and Mustafizur's sixth. In 2016, the fast bowler was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 1 crore. He was adjudged the emerging player of the tournament as well.
He played for four franchises so far in IPL after Sunrisers Hyderabad, he was picked by Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals.
Shakib has played 71 matches in IPL and scored 793 runs in 52 innings at an average 19.83. He has just two half-centuries. He also took 63 wickets with the cherry, conceding 7.44 runs per over with no four or five-wicket haul.
