Pakistan Cricket Board bars players from participating Bangladesh Premier League

Pakistan had refused to release any of its players for the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) after a planned bilateral series had to be scrapped, Bangladesh cricket chiefs said.

Pakistan had been due to host Bangladesh for a Twenty20 game and a 50-over match in Lahore this month in what would have been its first home internationals since a deadly attack on the Sri Lankan team bus nearly four years ago.

But the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cancelled the tour, saying Pakistan was not safe for its players. “Pakistan has now responded by preventing any of its stars from competing in the BPL which begins Thursday”, BCB spokesman said.

“The chief executive officer of PCB called our CEO today and informed him that they won’t Yunus told media.

“We’ve now decided to host the event without Pakistani players,” he said, adding the BPL’s seven franchises would now find replacements for the 26 Pakistani players they bought in the auction last month.

The move represents a major blow for the second edition of the BPL since Pakistani cricketers have a big following in Bangladesh. More than 50 Pakistani players took part in the auction for the second edition of BPL, with opening batsman Imran Nazir fetching $280,000.

Last year more than 20 Pakistani players took part in the inaugural edition, with all-rounder Shahid Afridi sold for the highest fee of $700,000.

The BCB spokesman further said Bangladesh has not ruled out touring Pakistan in the coming months but wanted to reassess the security situation before sending a team. Bangladesh was also due to tour Pakistan last April, but the tour was blocked by the Dhaka High Court on security grounds.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=37353

Posted by Web Desk on Jan 16 2013. Filed under Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.