Eighteen Bangladesh players threw their hat in the ring for a CPL gig recently. Apart from Tamim, Mahmudullah, Mustafizur - who also eventually had to turn down the offers - none of the others attracted any interest from the franchises.
Afghanistan's players, on the other hand, made quite a splash in the draft. Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi are now T20 stars. Qais Ahmed, seamer Naveen-ul-Haq, exciting keeper-bat Rahmnaullah Gurbaz and 15-year-old Noor Ahmad all found takers for the 2020 season.
Bangladesh's newest bugbear - a failure to produce mystery spinners, a batsman with 140 strike-rates or pace bowler capable of bowling 140 kmph - is understood to have hit them hard on the T20 circuit as well. The fact that uncapped 15-year-old Afghanistan spin sensation Noor was picked in the CPL only goes to highlight the widening gap in the T20 nurturing bed of the two countries.
According to seasoned BPL coach Mohammad Salahuddin, known to mentor a lot of national cricketers, Afghanistan's bowlers are thriving because of their advanced skills from having adapted by bowling on lifeless wickets back home.
"Most of the Afghanistan's players playing in the franchise-based competition are bowlers and not batsmen," Salahuddin told Cricbuzz.
"And the bowlers who are getting to play they have such skill that can release the pressure of the team as they either pick wickets or hold on the opposing batsmen. Not like our normal action bowlers, they are difficult bowlers.
"What I personally feel is that their bowlers learn such bowling because of their wicket back home. I think probably their wickets are flat and without good skills maybe it is difficult to survive for them. So maybe that's why they are nurtured like that," he said.