Pakistani Players to miss out on Bangladesh Premier League this November

With Pakistan’s National T20 competition’s schedule colliding with that of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the participation of the Pakistani players is now in doubt. BPL is scheduled for the month of November. Pakistan players would automatically have to feature in the national T20 tournament.

The final list of players in the BPL is not announced yet but Junaid Khan and Shahid Afridi have confirmed their participation in the tournaments. The league has witnessed a major contingent of Pakistan players in the previous editions namely Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Rana Naved, Yasir Arafat, Ajmal, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Aamir, Sohail Tanvir, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed and many others.

The seven teams participating in the tournament are Duronto Rajshahi, Khulna Royal Bengals, Surma Sixers Sylhet, Barisal Burners, Rangpur Riders, Dhaka Dynamites, and Chittagong Vikings. The secretary of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) governing council, Ismail-Haider Mallick, went ahead and claimed that he has not heard anything from the Pakistani players.

BCB has no affirmation from Pakistan Board yet

“I can say that the National T20 Cup will take precedence over another league,” commented director media and coordination, Amjad Hussain, according to ESPNcricinfo. According to a PCB spokesperson, the players would “naturally” have to fulfil their domestic commitments.

“We haven’t heard anything from the Pakistan players as yet, officially or unofficially,” quoted Ismail-Haider Mallick. “But if it happens then it will be a big loss for the players as BPL is one of the most competitive leagues in the world. But we are not too worried about the situation as we have a lot of foreign players who can replace missing Pakistan players,” further added the BCB official.

Pakistani players will play a three match T20I series against World XI squad before they host Sri Lanka for yet another T20I series. This will be the first prominent series in Pakistan post terror attacks on the Lankans back in 2009.