Bangladesh stars Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman might have played their last in this year’s Indian Premier League as the Bangladesh Cricket Board is against giving them NOC for the remainder of the season.
The 12th edition of the franchise T20 league got postponed midway through due to the second wave of the pandemic and is likely to be completed in UAE in September-October.
However, as Bangladesh have a very packed schedule of international cricket in the coming months, with Zimbabwe tour followed by visits by England, New Zealand and Australia before the T20 World Cup, the board is against allowing the players to skip the national team’s assignments for the IPL.
During an interview with a local satellite channel on Sunday, BCB president Nazmul Hassan said,”Given our schedule, it is almost impossible to give the NOC. I don’t see any possibilities, nor any opportunity. The World Cup is coming up, which makes every game important for us.”
Shakib played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL where he got to play three matches. Mustafizur, meanwhile, played all seven matches for Rajasthan Royals.
After touring Zimbabwe for a Test, three ODIs and three T20Is in June-July, Bangladesh will take on Australia in five T20Is at home in August, and both New Zealand (three T20Is) and England (three ODIs and three T20Is) are expected to tour Bangladesh after that for white-ball matches in the lead up to the World Cup.
Earlier, BCB’s cricket operation chairman, Akram Khan, had told Cricbuzz, a cricket website, that they were not ready to release Shakib for CPL either.