After Shakib, BCB ready to allow Mustafizur Rahman to skip national duties for IPL 2021

After allowing Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is now ready to give its nod to speedster Mustafizur Rahman to skip the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka to play in the IPL 2021. The national board had earlier given its permit to Shakib Al Hasan to miss the international series and play in the IPL 2021 after he was recently acquired by the Kolkata Knight Riders. Pertinently, Mustafizur Rahman was denied the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) by the BCB last year to play in the IPL 2020, which took place in the UAE. 

"We will surely give NOC to Mustafizur if he applies for it. We have given NOC to Shakib and it will be the same for Mustafizur," BCB's cricket operation chairman Akram Khan told reporters on Friday. 

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BCB had earlier restricted Bangladesh players to playing only two franchise-based tournaments in a calendar year. However, the board subsequently quashed its own policy as it allowed Shakib Al Hasan to play in the IPL at the expense of national duties. While Shakib will rejoin the Knight Riders, Mustafizur has secured a move to the Rajasthan Royals, who acquired the speedster at his base price of Rs 1 crores. 

England players prioritizing IPL?

Several key England players are also set to miss the international Test series against New Zealand to play in the IPL 2021 which is expected to begin in April this year. While there is no clarity whether the tournament will be held in India itself or if it will be moved abroad like last year, several BCCI officials have hinted at holding the tournament in India itself. While the tournament will conclude sometime in June, its finishing stages is set to collide with New Zealand’s imminent Test tour to England.

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The Black Caps are slated to tour England two weeks in advance before their Test series, in order to adhere to their local quarantine norms. While 13 England and New Zealand cricketers combined have already been retained by their franchises, several others bagged hefty contracts at the IPL 2021 auctions. Moeen Ali and Kyle Jamieson are amongst the top names that bagged a deal in Chennai after going under the hammer. 

Morris becomes IPL's most expensive player

South African all-rounder Chris Morris smashed all records on Thursday as he went under the hammer. The Proteas power-hitter, who played a T20 international back in 2019 and represented RCB in the IPL 2020, became the most expensive buy in the history of IPL as Rajasthan Royals acquired him for Rs 16.25 crore. His base price was set at Rs 75 lacs. Morris dethroned Yuvraj Singh and Australian quick Pat Cummins to become the most expensive purchase in the history of the tournament. 

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