Top Pakistani players probably won’t play the full Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season because they will be busy with their national team. Team officials said they will now have to find other players.
The BPL is from December 26 to January 23. But during this time, Pakistan will play three T20 matches against Sri Lanka on January 7, 9, and 11 in Dambulla. They will also have a training camp in Sri Lanka before the T20 World Cup, which will also be held there.
"We are aware that they (Pakistani cricketers) are not available for the whole season as they have a series against Sri Lanka in the middle of January, while they are slated to take on Australia at the end of January," said an official working closely with the franchises as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Top Pakistani Players Likely to Miss Full BPL Season Due to National Duties
Pakistan will also tour Australia for a three-match T20 series in the last week of January. After that, the team will start preparing to travel to Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup, which Sri Lanka and India will host together from February 7 to March 8. Several top Pakistani players had originally signed with BPL teams. This includes opener Saim Ayub, who is now a regular in Pakistan’s T20I team and recently became the No. 1 T20 all-rounder, along with Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, and others.
"It is not a fact that we are not giving an NOC (No Objection Certificate) this year. The players who have applied for the NOC, we are currently processing it. We are seeing who can be given an NOC and who cannot be given an NOC," a PCB official said.
"However, we must also remember that whenever there is national duty, that is our priority. So if someone is on national duty, in that case he will not be having the NOC and this is followed everywhere in the world," he added.
Many people think some Pakistani players might still play a few BPL matches. They could take part either before the Sri Lanka series or in the break between the Sri Lanka and Australia tours. Others believe that players who are not currently in Pakistan’s main T20 World Cup squad may still get a chance to play in the BPL.
