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None of the 26 Pakistan players auctioned in this season's Bangladesh
Premier League will take part in the Twenty20 competition after the PCB
refused to issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs).
The seven franchises will now have to hastily replace the cricketers in
less than two days as the tournament begins on January 18. But the
PCB's stance is seen here as a backhanded victory for the BCB who now
have a justification not to tour Pakistan, a tour they originally cancelled on December 31 due to security concerns, as this was used as the main cause of disagreement between the two boards.
"A little while ago, we received a phone call from their COO Subhan
Ahmed saying that if we don't send the Bangladesh team on tour to
Pakistan, they won't give NOCs to their players to participate in the
BPL," the BCB's media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said. "We will hold
the tournament without their participation and it will start as per
schedule, the opening ceremony on January 17 and the matches beginning
on January 18."
The BCB president Nazmul Hassan said that the PCB knowingly waited till
the last minute to inform them of the decision. "I couldn't imagine that
they could deliberately wait for so long, a day before the opening
ceremony, to inform us that they won't give the NOCs.
"There are many Pakistani cricketers who were bought in the auction so
to have all of them pull out at the last minute is a problem for us."
Hassan said that the action by the PCB has given the BCB free reign on
deciding to tour Pakistan, which they will not do without a second trip by a security team.
Absent names |
"We are no longer in a hurry. We were under tremendous pressure, so now
we have some breathing space. Just before the start of a tournament,
they have taken such a tough stance without any prior notice knowing
that it would throw the organisation into jeopardy.
"We will now decide on the sort of response regarding Bangladesh's tour
to Pakistan. It is not possible for us to commit to a tour without an
inspection, and we will not be cowed down by any preconditions."
The franchises were informed on Tuesday evening of the situation, but
the official word on the matter was only confirmed late on Wednesday
afternoon after a final phone call from the PCB. Khulna will be the most
severely hit as they have to replace Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Awais
Zia, Umar Amin, Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail and Bilawal Bhatti and they
have already begun the process. The other six franchises have also been
hit with Dhaka Gladiators being the least affected as they only lost
Shahid Afridi.
Yunus explained that each team will put forward names to replace their
Pakistan players and will be helped by the BPL governing council to
contact them and seek NOCs. In the event of a dispute if a player is
sought by more than one franchise, it will be decided on a
first-come-first-serve basis.
"The teams are giving us names and we are giving approvals," he said.
"Clause 4.4 says that if a player doesn't get an NOC he can be replaced.
This replacement can be from within the list of unsold players from the
auction or even from outside, for example we are talking to Kieron
Pollard. We are trying to bring players from four or five other
countries.
"Except for one or two players, most of the replacements are at a par
with the Pakistan players. It is troublesome for the franchises, but we
are taking it as a challenge. We are ready to face it."
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent
Feeds: Mohammad Isam
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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