National duty set to keep Pakistan players from full BPL stint
High-profile Pakistani cricketers are unlikely to make themselves available for the full season of the upcoming Bangladesh Premier League, the country's lone franchise-based T20 tournament, as they will be occupied with national commitments.
Several franchise officials confirmed the development to Cricbuzz, adding that they will now have to look for alternatives.
"We are aware that they (Pakistani cricketers) are not available for the whole season as they have a series against Sri Lanka in the middle of January, while they are slated to take on Australia at the end of January," said an official working closely with the franchises.
The BPL, scheduled from December 26 to January 23, overlaps with Pakistan's bilateral assignments in the final phase of their T20 World Cup preparation.
Pakistan are set to play a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka on January 7, 9 and 11 in Dambulla, while the tourists are expected to hold a camp in Sri Lanka as part of their build-up to the World Cup, with their tournament matches also scheduled there.
Pakistan are also set to host Australia for a three-match T20I series in the final week of January. Following that, they are expected to prepare for their departure to Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup, jointly hosted by Sri Lanka and India from February 7 to March 8.
Several leading Pakistani cricketers had signed with different BPL franchises, including opener Saim Ayub, now a regular in Pakistan's T20I top order and recently ranked the No.1 T20 all-rounder, along with Mohammad Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed, Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah and others.
"It is not a fact that we are not giving an NOC (No Objection Certificate) this year. The players who have applied for the NOC, we are currently processing it. We are seeing who can be given an NOC and who cannot be given an NOC," a PCB official told this website when asked about the development.
"However, we must also remember that whenever there is national duty, that is our priority. So if someone is on national duty, in that case he will not be having the NOC and this is followed everywhere in the world," he added.
Many feel there is a possibility of some players featuring in the BPL for a few matches during the gap before the Sri Lanka series or between the Sri Lanka and Australia series. Others believe players outside the immediate selection pool for the upcoming T20 World Cup may still have opportunities to turn out in the tournament.
