NEWS
Follow UsA unique situation came up in the inaugural edition of the Global Super League (GSL) taking place in Guyana. The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Rangpur Riders, who qualified for the final, might have to forfeit that game to Victoria, the other finalists because of local players.
According to the rules of the tournament, each team must field at least seven local players (of their own country) in their playing 11 for every match.
However, the Riders have Soumya Sarkar, Afif Hossain and Rishad Hossain in their 15-member squad that has travelled to Guyana for the five-team tournament. These three players are also named in Bangladesh’s ODI squad for the three-match series against West Indies, which also begins on December 8.
The gap between the final of GSL (December 7 according to IST) and Bangladesh’s first ODI is just one day. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) do not want to provide the liberty of keeping the three players to the Riders.
Even with one player available out of the three, Riders will be able to fulfil the requirement of seven local players. But the question remains, will BCB allow even one player to stay with Riders and later join the national team?
The BCB had given the No Objection Certificate (NOC) only till the group stage. But now since the Riders have made it to the final and it is only a matter of one extra day, they want to board to heed their requests.
"If they remain steadfast in their decision, Rangpur will have to forfeit the final match without even stepping onto the field. Such an incident would undoubtedly tarnish Bangladesh cricket's reputation on the global stage, as it is extremely rare for a team to miss a final due to a player shortage.
"Moreover, in the GSL, Rangpur is not just representing themselves but the entire nation of Bangladesh. Therefore, such an unfortunate event would be deeply disappointing for cricket enthusiasts as well," Cricbuzz quoted Riders as saying in a statement.
Apart from Rangpur and Victoria from Bangladesh and Australia respectively, Hampshire CCC from England, Lahore Qalandars from Pakistan and Guyana Amazon Warriors from the West Indies were part of the GSL.
Victoria qualified for the final with three wins from four games. But Guyana, Lahore and Rangpur all finished with two wins each. In fact, it was in the last league game between Rangpur and Lahore that the Bangladesh-based side pipped both the Pakistan and Guyana-based franchises on the basis of net run rate.
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