Bangladesh’s traditional cricket league, the Dhaka Premier League is scheduled to start from May 31 and it has caused worries for the Pakistan Super League franchises who have signed Bangladeshi players.
With Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das and Mahmuduallah Riyadh being part of the PSL’s recent draft, the chances of them participating in Pakistan’s premier domestic tournament, if it does happen, look very slim, with Shakib already signing up with Mohammedan Sporting (MSC) a legacy sports club of the nation.
Tarikul Islam Tito, a top official of MSC confirmed that the 34-year-old top allrounder of Bangladesh would not be taking part in the upcoming PSL as he had decided to join them for the DPL 2021. Tito even submitted a letter signed by Shakib to the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM), the governing body of DPL.
"We have submitted a letter signed by Shakib to CCDM that says he is keen to take part in the competition for us,’ Tito told Cricbuzz.
"He will not play in the PSL and instead opted to be part of our team in DPL. He is a free player because he was not part of the 2019-20 DPL due to his ban and now as he is eligible to take part and we have shown our keenness to take him on our side. BCB is yet to grant him for us but we hope to get the permission soon," the official added.
In the PSL draft, Shakib was signed by Lahore Qalandars while Liton and Mahmudullah went to Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans respectively. The organisation of PSL itself is under the water right now, after it was postponed in March this year because of rising cases of Covid-19 in the Bio-Bubble. It was supposed to start in June 2021 in Karachi. But with cases of the second wave increasing in Pakistan, organisers want PCB t host the tournament in UAE. However, UAE's travel policies are not looking favourable at the moment.
The 2019-20 season's DPL was postponed on March 19 due to the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.