‘Vaise bhi waterboy hi rehta’ – Fans react as Shakib Al Hasan opts out of Indian T20 League for Kolkata
The Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to release Shakib and Das as they will be part of the one-off Test against Ireland.
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Apr 3, 2023 9:51 pm
Shakib al Hasan (Source – Twitter)
Shakib al Hasan has pulled out of the ongoing season of the Indian T20 League due to international commitments and personal reasons. According to a report by Cricbuzz, the Bangladesh all-rounder was picked by the Kolkata franchise for the base price of INR 1.5 crore in the 2023 auction. Shakib has formally informed the franchise about his unavailability for the rest of the season.
Another Bangladeshi player Litton Das, however, is expected to join the Kolkata squad later this week. The Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to release Shakib and Das as they will be part of the one-off Test against Ireland that is scheduled to start on April 4. However, the franchise said that the players could be a part of the tournament after the T20I series that ended on March 31st.
It is noted that the Bangladesh Cricket Board already informed the Indian Cricket Board that the players would be available for a limited period from April 8 to May 1. The Indian Cricket Board then informed all the franchises regarding the availability of Bangladeshi players.
Things are not going right for the Kolkata franchise
The Kolkata franchise have already started the 2023 season without their main skipper Shreyas Iyer who has been ruled out of the tournament due to back problems. Nitish Rana has been appointed as the skipper for the ongoing season.
Kolkata also didn’t had a great start to the tournament as they lost their first match to the Punjab franchise by 7 runs in a rain-affected encounter. Batting first in Mohali, Punjab posted a big total of 191 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Skipper Shikhar Dhawan and Bhanuka Rajapaksa were the main anchors of Punjab batting lineup. Dhawan got out after scoring 40 off 29 balls, while Rajapaksa scored 50 runs from 32 deliveries.
Chasing the winning total, Kolkata were 146 for 7 after 16 overs before rain decided to play a spoilsport. The game didn’t continue further and Kolkata fell short of 7 runs as per the DLS method. Andre Russel was the top scorer for Kolkata with 35 runs off 19 balls.
Here’s a look at how fans reacted to Shakib Al Hasan’s news of opting out:
