The Dhaka Times Desk BCB has welcomed Pakistani cricket players to play in the Dhaka Premier League, but they have to bring a no objection certificate from the PCB, BCB said in a press conference. The main concern of the organizers at the start of the tournament was with the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) and the weather.
"We have no ban on players from any country," said CCDM chairman Jalal Yunus. He pointed out, "We will help the player who comes to play with a no objection certificate from his country's cricket board to sign the visa and contract papers."
"I have heard from the media that the PCB wants us to write to them, but we have not done this with any board, we have worked with the Sri Lankan Cricket Board as per the rules. I have allowed players with no objection certificate from them to play. We will do what we have to do to follow the rules."
CCDM's player sources are Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. But they are yet to bring in any players from Pakistan and India. Along with this, they are also worried about the weather in Bangladesh, because now the monsoon season of Bangladesh is going on. The first two rounds will be played in Bogra, Rajshahi and Dhaka, but these three districts have seen heavy rainfall in the past few weeks. However, the rainy season of Bangladesh lasts until September.
The Dhaka Premier League will begin with Kalabagan Cricket Academy's match against defending champion Victoria Sporting Club. Both teams will be fielding without any foreign players on the day, a rare sight for the Dhaka club. Nasir Hossain, Anamul Haque, Rabiul Islam will play among the high profile players of the national team that day. And Soumya Sarkar, Monir Hossain, Mohammad Sharif and Shaker Ahmed will play among the emerging players.
Victoria spent a lot of money last season buying players. They replaced Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan with Kamran Sajid and Ahmed Shehzad. They also got Shoaib Malik in three matches. They also got the expected results by importing left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdullah from India in four matches.
They will try to maintain the success this season as well. Their sponsor Gazi Tank has brought in New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris and Lankan all-rounder Kusali Ratna. Besides, there are Mahmudullah, Imrul Kayes, Rakibul Hasan, Rubel Hossain and Aftab Ahmed.
However, the Abahani team, which has achieved the most success 17 times in the history of Dhaka Premier League, is also hoping to become the champion this time. They won the championship in 1974-75 season. After that, they became champions 16 more times. In between, they became hat-trick champions three times in 1984-85, 1985-86, 1986-87 and 1992-93, 1993-94, 1994-95 and 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 seasons. They won the championship last season in 2010-11.
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