Mustafizur Rahman boards UAE flight for two T20Is, but BCB insists he can still play in IPL 2025. Here’s how

sanjeev

khelja|15-05-2025

Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman has reached the UAE for the scheduled two-match T20Is starting May 17, the day IPL 2025 resumes. However, he can still be part of the Delhi Capitals (DC) squad for the remainder of the tournament.

In the latest development, as explained and confirmed by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), the board is working on managing Mustafizur's national and franchise cricket commitments.

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Delhi roped in Mustafizur as Jake Fraser-McGurk's replacement for the remainder of the season. The BCB denied his participation by saying they never received any request for the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) required in this case. It put his IPL 2025 participation in jeopardy.

Per the latest report, the BCB continues to analyse the India-Pakistan cross-border situation, which forced the BCCI and the PCB to postpone their respective premier T20 tournaments. While the BCCI suspended IPL 2025 for a week owing to escalating tensions between both countries, the PCB tried staging the remainder of PSL 2025 outside of Pakistan in the UAE, only to face rejection from the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB).

Though both tournaments will resume shortly, the BCB finds itself in a tight spot over offering NOCs to the players playing across both leagues. A BCB source close to the information revealed they have no issues allowing Mustafizur to play in IPL 2025, but should that happen, they then have to offer NOCs to two other players, Rishad Hossain and Nahid Rana, who played in PSL 2025.

Given the board is conscious of making a rational decision here, they are also keen to avoid getting into an uncomfortable situation with their neighbouring boards - BCCI and PCB.

"We are not saying that we won't let Mustafizur play in the IPL for the Delhi Capitals, but at the same time, there is a thing called national commitment, and he needs to fulfil that," a BCB director said on request of anonymity.

"Along with that, if we had released him in that case, what would we have done with the two cricketers who took part in PSL, as they could have asked why we were not releasing them?

"We don't want to be in a position that allows any Board to point a finger at us," the source continued, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

How can he play in IPL 2025?

The latest report suggests that there are two possible scenarios.

Mustafizur could be released following the T20Is concluding on May 21 (Monday), and he could then link up with the DC team for the remainder of the IPL 2025 games. In another case, should Bangladesh release him after the first T20I (May 17), the left-armer would be available for DC's three league games, while the number could increase should DC qualify for the playoffs.

If they fail to progress further in the tournament, Mustafizur could re-link with the Bangladesh team for the away T20Is against Pakistan starting May 27.
The BCB, however, awaits the government's directives regarding their tour of Pakistan.