Bangladesh players Taskin Ahmed and Tawhid Hridoy had sought No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play the Lankan Premier League (LPL), in line with the recent trend where many of the national team stars are getting opportunities to play in franchise leagues around the world, marking an increasing demand for their services. It allows players to get more confidence in their game while also gaining much-needed exposure to foreign conditions.
Both Taskin and Hridoy applied for NOC on an official basis for the LPL but it was learned that Taskin will not be granted NOC for the tournament, due to workload management issues ahead of the Asia Cup and the World Cup, but Hridoy’s NOC will be granted, BCB sources confirmed to The Daily Star yesterday.
Taskin had sought NOC for the full LPL while Hridoy’s NOC application sought permission to play the tournament for Jaffna Kings till August 8. Shoriful Islam has also informed the board about an LPL offer but has not asked for NOC officially.
“Towhid Hridoy will be granted NOC. For Taskin, however, the board has decided against it since there is World Cup and Asia Cup coming up and also since he is currently playing in a franchise league (Zim Afro T10 league), he will cross the level of workload he should take on. With that in mind, the team management and board has decided not to grant him [Taskin] NOC for LPL,” a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official told The Daily Star on conditions of anonymity.
It will come as a disappointment to Taskin, who so far has not put aside appearances in the IPL, English County cricket with Yorkshire and a stint in the PSL, due to focus on national duty. Since batters go through less stress than fast bowlers, the BCB decided to only grant NOC to Hridoy for now.
“Because Taskin is performing so well, the interest is there to get him signed and it will remain but for this year, the Asia Cup and World Cup is there and BCB wants him fresh and fit for the tournament,” the BCB official added.
Along with Taskin, Mushfiqur Rahim is also playing the ongoing Zim Afro T10 league in Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and batter Liton Das are playing the Global T20 Canada tournament while Shakib is also set to feature in the LPL along with compatriot Mohammad Mithun for Galle Gladiators.
For the players, it is renewed inspiration that doing well for the national team grants them opportunities to flourish in other leagues.
“Our players are performing outstandingly and that’s why the interest from other franchise leagues is on the rise. Previously when there was a limit set for NOC in two tournaments only, the interest from other franchise leagues was only on Shakib. Now our players are doing well and interest has increased and the board will be taking things into account before making decisions on these,” cricket operations manager, Shahriar Nafees, told The Daily Star yesterday.
While Taskin’s case may be an exception given the all-important ODI World Cup ahead of the Tigers, the BCB would have to rethink their workload scheme after the showpiece event in India. More players being sought out for foreign leagues mean that the player pool will have to be adequate enough to allow stars to feature in other leagues when schedule allows.
