Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan doesn’t see ‘any possibility’ of former skipper Shakib Al Hasan playing in the rescheduled Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced it will complete the remaining matches of IPL 2021 in the months of September and October in UAE.
The BCB chief cited Bangladesh’s busy schedule and T20 World Cup which is slated to take place in India in October as the reasons behind KKR all-rounder Shakib not getting a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the board for IPL.
“Given our schedule, it is almost impossible (for Shakib) to get the NOC. I don’t see any possibilities, nor any opportunity. The World Cup is coming up, which makes every game important for us,” Hassan told Ekattor TV.
Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who plays for Rajasthan Royals, is also unlikely to get NOC from the board. Also, both New Zealand and England are likely to tour Bangladesh ahead of the T20 World Cup.
“We want to go into the England series with full strength. Both the ODI Super League and the World Cup T20 are important to us,” said Hassan. Meanwhile, BCCI has decided that it will keep a window till around July before taking a call on the availability of foreign players.
According to a report in Sydney Morning Herald, Cummins has already made it clear that he would not be taking part in the remaining matches of the IPL, however, there is no reason given behind his decision.
“David Warner and Pat Cummins could be rested from the West Indies tour because of family reasons - others could follow after a draining year in several bubbles - and Cummins, despite a multimillion-dollar IPL contract, has already said he will not return to the T20 tournament this season,” stated the report.
(with ANI inputs)
