PHOTO: BCB

SPORTS REPORTER

Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Capitals have confirmed the signing of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman on Wednesday for the remainder of the IPL season for INR 6 crore, but interestingly, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was not aware of the development.

The news surfaced at a time when the first contingent of the Bangladesh team had already departed for Dubai on Wednesday morning for a two-match T20I series against the UAE, and the second contingent of players, including Mustafizur and a few others, were on their way to the airport to catch the Dubai-bound flight. The 29-year-old eventually departed for UAE with the other players and officials later in the evening.

Earlier, the news of IPL signing caused confusion on Mustafizur’s availability for the UAE series -- slated to be played on May 17 and 19 – and the five-match T20I tour of Pakistan.

Mustafizur had a base price of INR 2 crore in the auction list for this year’s IPL. It was learnt that Delhi Capitals were in competition to secure the Bangladesh pacer’s services alongside another franchise as a number of foreign players, including ones from Australia, South Africa and England, were reluctant to return to the IPL following the India-Pakistan conflict. Given the competition, things moved fast as Delhi secured the left-arm pacer for a six-crore-rupee signing fee.

But BCB had no inkling about the development.

“Mustafizur is supposed to go with the team to UAE and that’s what the schedules are at the moment. We have not received any communication from the IPL officials. I am not sure whether Mustafizur asked for any NOC,” BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury told The Daily Star.

IPL franchises usually communicate to the board regarding availability of players. However, BCB’s cricket operations department, too, did not know about the development.

“We, too, learnt from social media and journalists regarding Mustafizur’s signing with Delhi Capitals. Since we did not receive any official request from the player or the BCCI, we can’t make a comment on an official basis,” a BCB official said.

Given the delicate nature of the security situation surrounding the upcoming Pakistan series, it remains to be seen what decision comes regarding the series, and in the event the series is played as scheduled, whether Mustafizur gets NOC from the BCB.

Bangladesh team’s second contingent, including skipper Liton Das, Mustafizur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Shoriful Islam, and senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin, departed the country in the evening yesterday for the UAE, where the Tigers are scheduled to play a two-match T20I series, starting on May 17 in Sharjah. The first contingent left in the morning.