Dhaka: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has refused bowler Mustafizur Rahman a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) required to take part in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to his commitments with the national side. The IPL 2020 is set to kick off from September 19 in the UAE.
Reportedly, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have approached pacer. While MI put back Lasith Malinga with James Pattinson, KKR are still left to find a possible replacement for Harry Gurney. The last time Mustafizur has appeared in the 2018 IPL season was when he represented MI.
“Yes, he (Mustafizur) had an offer from the IPL but we did not give him NOC as we have the Sri Lanka tour coming up,” BCB cricket operation chairman Akram Khan said to Cricbuzz on Friday (September 4).
At the end of practice session at the great Eden Gardens Cricket Stadium. pic.twitter.com/sqkYuoVKyt
— Mustafizur Rahman (@Mustafiz90) May 8, 2018
However, BCB denied the NOC since Bangladesh are to tour Sri Lanka tour for a three-match Test series, which is scheduled to begin on October 24 — a time when IPL will be also continuing in the UAE. Originally, the Sri Lanka series was scheduled to take place in July and August in 2020, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19.
BCB president Nazmul Hassan had reacted by saying that he won’t be allowed to participate in overseas leagues for the next two years. “I have told him (Mustafizur) that he will not be available abroad (for T20 franchise tournaments) for the next two years. It cannot go on like this. He will pick up injuries while playing in the franchise league and won’t be available to perform the national duty,” Hassan said earlier in 2018.
Earlier, BCB had permitted Mustafizur to enter for the IPL auction in order to retrieve his form. Mustafizur’s performance in the T20I series in India turned out to be disappointing as he took only a single wicket in the three games and runs at 9.51. He has played 24 IPL games and has 24 wickets at an average of 28.54.
