After Shakib Al Hasan’s decided to skip a home test series against Sri Lanka to participate in Indian Premier League (IPL), Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) board chief Nazmul Hassan has said that players will have to specify which formats they will be available for under a new clause in their contracts.
In the recently held mini-auction, Kolkata Knight Riders had acquired the services of the all-rounder Shakib for Rs 3.20 crore.
Later, the BCB allowed Shakib to miss a two-test series against Sri Lanka but now it wants clarity from its contracted players on their availability for national teams.
“We will enter into a new contact with the players,” BCB President Hassan told local media.
“It will be mentioned clearly who wants to play which format. If they have any other engagement, they have to be clear about their availability. We are confirming it in writing, so that nobody can say that they haven’t been allowed or we kept them forcibly,” he added.
Significantly, Shakib had returned to the national set-up last month after serving a one-year ban for failing to report corrupt approaches.
Hassan said that though the board was disappointed, it did not want to force anyone to play.
“Couldn’t we have stopped Shakib from going (to the IPL)? He may have played but we don’t want that. We want only those to play, who really love the game. We have tried to keep him interested. When Shakib had declined to play tests three years ago, we made him the captain. I didn’t like the timing of it. He was among the players I expected would take charge of the difficult situation. It was disappointing,” he expressed.