Anamul awaits NOC fom BCB to play in PSL final Mar 5
Sports Reporter
Opener Anamul Haque Bijoy has been waiting for No Objection Certificate from Bangladesh Cricket Board to play the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) which is set to held in Lahore on March 5. BCB is expected to give its decision today, it was learnt.
Bijoy was approached by the Quetta Gladiators who has already made the final of the second PSL and will take on the team between Karachi Kings and Peshwar Zalmi. Those two teams would play the third qualifier, a virtual semi-final today in a bid to face off Gladiators in the final.
Bangladeshs Mahmudullah Riyad was the part of the Gladiators before he joined the national team in Sri Lanka.
Since the PSL was held in Pakistan, a team where every cricketing nation put a bar to play, most of the foreign players of the Gladiators refused to play there.
Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright and Tymal Mills all tweeted about leaving the tournament, while former New Zealand off spinner Nathan McCullum will also not travel. Rilee Rossouw, the South African batsman, had been considering playing in the final, but he too wrote on Twitter that he was leaving the tournament. Its with a sad heart that I must announce that I will not be taking part in the final.
Bijoy however pushed the ball to the court of BCB who after a long time discussion agreed to give him NOC.
The foreign teams were not going to Pakistan since the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan national team in Lahore in 2009.
According to a report of BBC Urdu service on Wednesday, as part of its desperate attempt to revive international cricket at home, Pakistan Cricket Board has invited Bangladesh to visit the country for a series in November.
Pakistan team is due to visit Bangladesh for a full-fledged series in July this year, but according to the report, PCB wants a commitment from Bangladesh before confirming the visit of its team.
PCB said that Pakistan team has already visited Bangladesh in 2012 and 2015 but has not reciprocated the series.
Bangladesh last time visited Pakistan in 2008, one year before a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus at Lahore left eight people died and seven visiting players and an assistant coach injured.
According to Pakistani media, a Bangladeshi security delegate will visit Pakistan along with the other Test nations during the Pakistan Super League final in Lahore on March 5 to see their arrangement, but BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury brushed aside the report.
Our two representatives will join an ICC delegate during the PSL final, he said. But it has nothing to do with any planned bilateral series. We just acted upon an ICC request, he told the reporters yesterday.
The CEO also talked about physio Dean Conway who is rumoured to be sacked after he refused to go to Sri Lankan with the team following a problem regarding his salary.
His matter is in the process now. Since he refused to go to Sri Lanka with the team, well take a decision later.
