Mustafizur Rahman is all set to take part in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), starting April 9. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has provided him a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the tournament in India. In the auction back in February, Rajasthan Royals (RR) roped in the Satkhira-born speedster at his base price of INR 1 crore. “We have given him NOC for IPL as he is not in our Test plans for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. It’s better if he plays there and gains some experience,” Abedin was quoted as saying on Saturday, March 27, reported by Cricbuzz.
The Royals would be playing their first game on April 12 against Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Earlier, Mustafizur said that he was ready to skip the IPL and would prioritize his country. Last year, the pacer was denied a NOC as the BCB only allowed its players to take part in two franchise-based T20 tournaments in a year. Recently, the BCB and Shakib Al Hasan were at loggerheads after the latter picked the IPL over representing Bangladesh in Test cricket. Shakib said that his letter to the board was misinterpreted and Akram Khan, the BCB cricket operation chairman, was misleading the media. Later Khan talked about reconsidering the NOC given to Shakib. However, in the end, the Magura-born’s NOC was upheld. Shakib would be representing the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who bagged him for INR 3.2 crores. The availability of Mustafizur Rahman comes as a huge relief for the Royals with their pace spearhead Jofra Archer being ruled out of the tournament with a elbow injury.
