& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

BPL sans Pak players?

Sports Reporter
The cloud over the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 grew more ominous as till late yesterday the participation of Pakistani players, who form a substantial part of each franchise's roster, was still unlikely. The BPL governing council however remained bullish about the tournament starting on time on January 18, with or without Pakistani participation.
Having waited most of yesterday for an official reply from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on the issue, the BPL governing council handed the PCB a deadline through e-mail, urging them to provide an official reply to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) with regards to the participation of Pakistani players in the BPL by 10 am today.
“We didn't receive any information from Pakistan. We sent them an e-mail. We'll wait till 10 am on Wednesday and that is the deadline,” said Afzalur Rahman Sinha, chairman ofthe BPL governing council.
Relations with the PCB, once among the BCB's strongest allies, have seen a recent downturn as a proposed Bangladesh tour to Pakistan was stopped in its tracks twice over the last year. No international team has toured Pakistan since the March 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, which left Pakistan to host its home matches in offshore venues.
In April 2012, Bangladesh were supposed to be the first team to tour since the attack to play a T20I and an ODI, but the trip was postponed because of a High Court stay order. The second postponement of the tour, which was supposed to take place in mid-January 2013, was on December 30 when the BCB decided not to send a team to Pakistan because of security concerns.
The latest decision met the ire of the PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf, and although there was no official correspondence with the BCB, various media reports in Pakistan quoted Ashraf as saying that the board would not release its players for the BPL until the BCB confirms its schedule with regards to a tour to Pakistan.
“What the BCB president [Nazmul Hassan Papon] told the PCB chairman [Zaka Ashraf] in Delhi, that will happen — a security team will visit Pakistan, and the decision will be based on their assessment. We are not ready to pledge anything beyond that, and if anyone has told them [PCB| otherwise, then it’s their responsibility,” Sinha asserted sternly.
“We had sent them an e-mail with all these factors mentioned a couple of days ago. But they didn't send any reply. If the PCB doesn't want to send their players for the BPL then they should inform us directly. They didn't do that. They went to the media and we heard everything from the media. This is unprofessional and we won't bow down,” added Sinha.
“Yesterday, we contacted the franchises and were waiting for updates about the Pakistani players. What most of them told us was that the
players, though ready to come to Bangladesh, hadn't received their noobjection certificates (NOCs),” said Jalal Yunus, chairman of the BCB media committee.
Members of the governing council further stated that the BPL would go as per the schedule even if the Pakistani players don't participate. “There were a number of unsold players during the auctions and we are also trying to contact players from other countries. We have informed the franchises. Hopefully there will be some good news on Wednesday,” said Dr IH Mallick, member-secretary of the governing council.
The latest developments with regard to the Pakistani players can prove to be cosdy for a number of franchises. Seven out of the nine foreign players for the Khulna Royal Bengals, for instance, are from Pakistan. Rangpur Riders, who have a total of 15 players as of now, have four Pakistani players.