Just 18 hours before the first T20 match against the United Arab Emirates, Rishad Hossain and Nahid Rana were finally able to join the team.
The two young cricketers had been stuck at the airport for three days due to immigration complications but were released on Friday night and joined the squad. Thankfully, all issues have been resolved, and both players are now available for selection in the first match of the series.
The news was confirmed to BDnews24.com by BCB Director and Head of Media, Iftekhar Ahmed Mithu. However, even the BCB is unsure of the exact reason behind their detainment at the airport.
Rishad and Nahid initially traveled with the first group of the Bangladesh team on Wednesday to the UAE for the two-match T20 series. While the rest of the squad cleared immigration without issue, the duo was taken aside for a document check and not allowed to exit the airport. Eventually, all communication with them was lost.
“They traveled with the team on the 14th,” said Iftekhar Ahmed. “While the rest of the team cleared immigration, Rishad and Nahid were not granted permission. Instead, they were taken upstairs for further inspection of their documents.”
“At one point, we couldn’t even contact them anymore. They were sent with proper visas from Bangladesh. We still don’t know why exactly they were held up.”
To manage the situation, the BCB reached out to the Emirates Cricket Board and the Bangladesh High Commission in Dubai.
“We did everything possible from our end,” Mithu explained. “We contacted the Emirates Cricket Board and also spoke with the High Commission. After resolving all the issues, they were finally released from the airport around 2:30 AM on Friday.”
Still, the BCB has not received a clear explanation for their detainment.
“We honestly don’t know the exact reason why they were held at the airport. Immigration usually doesn’t disclose these things, and we don’t even know who to ask,” Mithu added.
Earlier this month, before tensions escalated between India and Pakistan, Rishad and Nahid were playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). When the tournament was suspended due to security concerns, both players left Pakistan on May 9 via a special flight arranged by the PCB and traveled to Dubai. The next day, they returned to Bangladesh.
The BCB suspects that some paperwork might have been incomplete during their transit from Pakistan to Dubai, which could be the cause of the issue.
“We assume that when they arrived in Dubai from the PSL, they didn’t have a visa at that time and entered under special circumstances. Later, they returned to Bangladesh. Maybe some documentation was left incomplete. We can’t say for sure what happened,” Mithu explained.
Now, with just 18 hours left before the first match, Rishad and Nahid have finally joined the squad. While the rest of the team has already completed two practice sessions in the UAE, the duo couldn’t participate.
As a result, it will be up to the team management to decide whether Rishad and Nahid will be included in the playing XI for the opening match, which kicks off at 9 PM Bangladesh time on Saturday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
