Walton has assembled a star-studded squad featuring several national team cricketers with the ambition of winning the inaugural D-Three Trophy, a new domestic competition organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
National team all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz has been named the franchise’s icon player, while prominent cricketers Litton Kumar Das, Taskin Ahmed, Mominul Haque, Marshall Ayub, Nasum Ahmed, Ariful Islam and Rony Talukdar have also joined the squad.
The player auction for the tournament was held at a five-star hotel in Dhaka on Monday, October 26, with six franchises competing to build their teams. A total of 269 cricketers went under the hammer during the eight-hour auction, conducted by experienced Indian auctioneer Charu Sharma.
Each franchise selected 22 players through the auction in addition to its designated icon player, forming a 23-member squad.
Taskin Ahmed was among Walton’s biggest acquisitions, with the franchise spending 2.10 crore points to secure the national team pacer. Wicketkeeper-batter Litton Kumar Das was signed for 1.55 crore points, while experienced Test batter Mominul Haque joined for 80 lakh points.
Walton also secured spinner Nasum Ahmed for 69 lakh points, young cricketer Ariful Islam for 62 lakh, Marshall Ayub for 36 lakh and Rony Talukdar for 30 lakh points.
To strengthen its bowling attack, the franchise recruited young pacer Iqbal Hasan Emon for 66 lakh points. Promising all-rounder Samiun Basir Ratul was acquired for 54 lakh points, while Habibur Rahman Sohan and Rejaur Rahman Raja were signed for 32 lakh points each.
The squad combines international experience with emerging talent. Miraz’s all-round abilities, Litton’s aggressive batting, Taskin’s pace and Mominul’s experience in longer-format cricket are expected to give Walton a competitive edge across the tournament’s three formats.
Nasum’s spin bowling, the batting experience of Marshall and Rony, and the potential of younger players are also expected to play important roles in the franchise’s title campaign.
Former national team spinner Abdur Razzak will serve as Walton’s head coach. Expressing satisfaction with the squad after the auction, he said the auction system had given all franchises an opportunity to build competitive teams around established players. Walton, he added, had made good use of that opportunity.
Actor Amin Khan represented Walton at the auction and expressed confidence in the team’s prospects, saying the franchise had assembled a balanced squad with the title firmly in its sights.
“Everyone wants their team to win, and I also expect Walton to win. Considering how the team has been formed, the players we have selected and the fact that we have the best coach with us, we hope to deliver good cricket and, of course, win,” Amin Khan said.
Walton has yet to appoint a captain, despite having players such as Miraz and Litton with leadership experience at the national level. Coach Razzak said the decision would be made after considering the team’s needs and circumstances.
Razzak also said he was enjoying his new coaching responsibility, particularly the opportunity to remain involved in cricket, spend time around the ground and work closely with players. However, he emphasised that fulfilling his responsibilities and helping the team achieve positive results remained his main priorities.
The D-Three Trophy will feature T20, one-day and four-day cricket, presenting teams with the challenge of competing across three formats. Walton hopes to use its experienced players, emerging talents and coaching plans to establish itself as a leading contender.
With a strong squad in place, the franchise will now look to translate its auction success into performances on the field and pursue the tournament title.
Walton squad: Mehidy Hasan Miraz (icon), Mominul Haque, Litton Kumar Das, Taskin Ahmed, Marshall Ayub, Nasum Ahmed, Ariful Islam, Rony Talukdar, Iqbal Hasan Emon, Nahidul Islam, Shahidul Islam, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Ziaur Rahman, Naim Ahmed, Habibur Rahman Sohan, Samiun Basir Ratul, Chowdhury Md Rizwan, SM Meher Hasan, Imranuzzaman, Asaduzzaman Payel, Rabiul Hasan Anik, Rabiul Islam Rabi and Rakib Howlader.
