There is no obstacle for Pakistanis to play in Dhaka Premier League

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.

“কোনো দেশের খেলোয়াড়ের ওপরই আমাদের নিষেধাজ্ঞা নেই”, বলেছেন সিসিডিএমের চেয়ারম্যান জালাল ইউনুস। তিনি উল্লেখ করে বলেন, “যে খেলোয়াড়ই তার দেশের ক্রিকেট বোর্ডের কাছ থেকে নো অবজেকশন সার্টিফিকেট নিয়ে খেলতে আসবে তাকেই আমরা ভিসা এবং কন্ট্রাক্ট পেপারে সই করতে সহযোগীতা করবো।”

“মিডিয়ার কাছ থেকে শুনেছি পিসিবি চাচ্ছে যে আমরা তাদের লিখে পাঠাই, কিন্তু এ কাজ আমরা কোনো বোর্ডের সাথেই করিনি, আমরা শ্রীলঙ্কান ক্রিকেট বোর্ডের সাথে নিয়মানুযায়ীই কাজ করেছি। তাদের কাছ থেকেও নো অবজেশন সার্টিফিকেটধারী খেলোয়াড়দের অনুমতি দিয়েছি খেলার জন্য। আমরা নিয়ম অনুসরণ যা করার তাই করবো।”

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.