Bangladesh wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim, who went under the hammer but remained unpicked during the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction held in Kolkata last Thursday, said that he knew about the outcome beforehand.

The base price for Mushfiqur, who was in the wicketkeeper category, was 75 lakh rupees. Mushfiqur was not initially part of the 971 players who registered for the IPL auction, but he was a part of the 24 additional players who were added to the list after their names were requested by the franchises.

Mushfiqur however mentioned that he fancied a place in the IPL after the franchises had requested his name.

“To be honest I knew that may be they would not pick me so there is no point of registering for it [IPL]. But after they requested for my name to be in the final list then I thought that may be as they requested then there might be a chance.” said Mushfiqur after his side Khulna Tigers’ first defeat in the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL) against Sylhet Thunder at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram today.

Mushfiqur said although he was a bit disappointed after being snubbed at the auction, his focus now remains in the ongoing BBPL.

“But it did not happen and it is not actually in my hand. What is in my hand is that every one of us here in Bangladesh can continue to perform consistently. This does not really bother me. There is no bigger pride than playing for your country. There was a little hope but it did not happen -- that’s it. I have BPL matches and I need to think about that.” concluded the 32-year-old.