BCB grants partial NOCs, Mustafizur exempt from NZ T20Is

Bangladesh players are off vacationing after the ODI series triumph against Pakistan and while most of them will reassemble after the Eid-ul-Fitr to prepare for the home white-ball series against New Zealand, the plans for the six Pakistan Super League (PSL)-bound players will be different.

The Tigers will play three ODIs against New Zealand on April 17, 20 and 23 respectively and will then lock horns in a three-match T20I series against the same opponents on April 27, 29 and May 2.

Before the series, Bangladesh are set to begin a white-ball camp from March 27.

However, the PSL-contracted players -- Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon (Lahore Qalandars), Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana, Tanzid Hasan Tamim (Peshawar Zalmi), and Rishad Hossain (Rawalpindi Pindiz) -- will not join the camp as they have been granted No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to play in the league, set to run from March 26 to May 3.

At the time of filing this report, Tanzid’s signing had not been made official, however, sources at the BCB’s cricket operations had confirmed that he had been picked by Peshawar.

The BCB has granted partial NOCs to all of the players, wanting to keep majority of them available for the ODI series, as qualification for the next year’s ICC ODI World Cup is still on the line.

Left-arm pacer Mustafizur, who recently shrugged off an injury scare in the third ODI against Pakistan at Mirpur, has been given a two-part NOC.

“Mustafizur has been given NOC from March 26 to April 12 and then April 24 to March 3. Mustafizur will be available for the ODI series. He will be exempted from the T20I series as we look at other bowling options,” a BCB official informed The Daily Star.

Tanzid, Shoriful, Rana and Rishad were handed NOCs till April 12, and will be available for selection for both ODI and T20I series.

Meanwhile, Parvez was granted NOC till April 21 as he is only being eyed for T20Is for now.

BCB cricket operations chairman Nazmul Abedeen Fahim had previously mentioned in a media brief that the board will protect its interest in regards to NOC but at the same time would grant it if it feels the players can gain valuable experience from competing in franchise leagues.

With the 2-1 series win over Pakistan, Bangladesh have climbed one spot to ninth in the ICC ODI rankings. Although the team won’t leap any higher even if they win 3-0 against New Zealand, the team has the chance to bridge the gap with England, who are currently eighth and leading Bangladesh by nine rating points.

The Blackcaps are set to arrive in Dhaka on April 13.