Veteran cricketer Mahmudullah Riyad has spoken about a difficult moment at the Bangladesh Premier League 2026 auction and how Rangpur Riders later gave him a chance.
At the start of the auction, no franchise showed interest in Mahmudullah. The situation surprised many. Later, Rangpur stepped in and signed the experienced player, showing faith and respect.
In the ongoing BPL season, Mahmudullah has played all three matches for Rangpur so far. He struggled in the second game, but bounced back strongly in the next match against Sylhet Titans. He played an unbeaten knock of 34 runs from 16 balls and guided Rangpur to victory. He also won the Player of the Match award.
After the match, Mahmudullah attended the press conference as Rangpur’s representative. There, he opened up about the auction experience and thanked those who stood by him.
According to auction rules, players who remain unsold in the first call usually see their category dropped in the next round. However, Rangpur representative and BCB director Ishtiaque Sadeque requested that the categories of Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim not be lowered. Rangpur later picked Mahmudullah at the base price.
After his match winning innings, Mahmudullah expressed his gratitude. He said, “I want to thank Ishtiaque bhai and Rangpur Riders. They gave me the opportunity. I did not get a team at the start. I am grateful to this franchise, the owners, the coach and the captain.”
Speaking about not getting picked early in the auction, the former captain said, “I was watching the auction. I was really shocked at not getting picked in the first call. I was really shocked. If you look at the performance graph of the last two years, even three years, many national team cricketers were not even close to my numbers. Strike rate, average, runs, everything combined.”
Mahmudullah’s words reflected both his surprise and his relief, as Rangpur Riders eventually gave him the platform to prove his value once again.
