APL 2018: Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Mithun denied NOC for the event

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has made it clear that they are not going to provide a NOC to Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Mithun for the Afghanistan Premier League (APL). This decision was taken by the board as both players are expected to be in contention for selection for the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe and the Windies.

“We don’t want to let them play because of the national commitments and the two upcoming home-series,” BCB cricket operation chairman Akram Khan was quoted as saying in Cricbuzz.

Sarkar and Mithun were supposed to play for the Kandahar Knights, along with Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed. Taskin, however, was given a NOC and he joined the side on Tuesday (October 2) while both Sarkar and Mithun were expected to fly on Friday.

“Taskin got the NOC for other reasons. [He is] a fast bowler and he was injured for a long time and so we want to see his condition,” he added. Bangladesh are scheduled to host Zimbabwe and Windies for bilateral series between October 21 and December 22.

What is the APL?

The inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League kicked off on the 5th of October and will run till the 21st of the same month at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Up to 40 overseas players will be involved in the tournament. A total of 5 teams have been selected to compete, named after regions in Afghanistan. The ICC approved plans for the tournament in August this year.

Yesterday, the event got off to a blistering start as Kabul Zwanan and Paktia Panthers tried their hearts out in the inaugural match. However, it was Rashid Khan’s Zwanan who won the match in a last over thriller courtesy of Laurie Evan’s heroics. Two matches are set to take place today between Kandahar Knights and Nangarhar Leopards, and Balkh Legends and Kabul Zwanan.

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