Litton Das, Rishad Hossain leave for PSL

Bangladesh national team cricketers Litton Das and RishadHossain have departed for Pakistan to take part in the upcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Both players confirmed their departure through posts on social media platform Facebook.

Litton and Rishad have received No Objection Certificates (NOC) from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to participate in the entire season. Litton was picked by Karachi Kings in the Silver category during the PSL draft, while Rishad will represent Lahore Qalandars.

Young Bangladeshi pacer NahidRana has also been signed by a PSL franchise. However, he will miss the start of the tournament due to his commitment to the upcoming Test series against Zimbabwe. The right-arm pacer is expected to join his PSL side after the conclusion of the first Test. This will mark Nahid's debut appearance in an international franchise league.

Earlier, Leg spinner RishadHossain and fast bowler NahidRana vowed to thrive in their franchise league debut after granting No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Nahid and Rishad earlier were drafted for several leagues around the world but didn't get NOC to play finally. Liton had already played some T20 leagues including the IPL.

Wicketkeeper-batter Liton was acquired by Karachi Kings while Rishad and pacer Rana were picked by Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi respectively from the players' draft held on January 13. The PSL, one of the top T20 leagues starts on April 11.

NahidRana who had already played Test and ODIs, is yet to make his T20 International debut but he had some eye-catching performance in the last Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Nahid was one of the protagonists of Bangladesh's historical 2-0 Test sweep against Pakistan when his five wickets in the deciding Rawalpindi Test decisively tilted the match toward Bangladesh. He said, inspired by the Test performance in Pakistan, he wants to thrive in PSL.

"Every match of PSL is important for me. I will try to utilize the experience I gathered by playing a Test series in Pakistan which we won," he said.
Nahid so far played 17 T20 matches and took 14 wickets.

 The pace sensation will start his PSL campaign after the first Test against Zimbabwe in Sylhet, starting on April 20. The BCB handed Nahid a partial NOC to manage his workload.

The 2024 edition of the PSL kicks off on April 11, with Islamabad United taking on Lahore Qalandars in the opening match. A total of 34 matches will be played across four venues - Lahore, Karachi, Multan, and Rawalpindi - among six teams. The final is scheduled for May 18 in Lahore.

Organizers have confirmed that this will be the last PSL season featuring six teams, as two more franchises are set to join the league from next year, expanding it to an eight-team competition.