Miraz gets first overseas league call-up, joins Shakib at Lahore Qalandars
For the first time in his nearly nine-year career, Mehidy Hasan Miraz has received a call-up to play in an overseas franchise league. He’ll be teaming up with fellow Bangladeshi star Shakib Al Hasan at the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Lahore Qalandars.
Having been left out of Bangladesh’s T20 squad recently, Miraz had been focusing on red-ball cricket to prepare for the upcoming Test series in Sri Lanka. But out of nowhere came an opportunity in white-ball cricket—Lahore Qalandars have picked him up for the business end of the PSL.
This marks Miraz’s debut appearance in a franchise league outside Bangladesh. At Qalandars, he will join forces with veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.
Shakib, returning to competitive cricket after nearly six months, played his comeback match for Qalandars on Sunday. The team secured a playoff spot by winning that rain-affected match.
The Eliminator match is scheduled for Thursday. If everything goes as planned, Miraz will make his PSL debut in that game. However, if Qalandars lose, his journey in the tournament will end after just one match. A win would give him more chances to contribute, possibly all the way to the final.
On Monday morning, Miraz applied to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for a No Objection Certificate (NOC). BCB’s cricket operations head Shahriar Nafees confirmed that the NOC has been granted until next Sunday—the same day as the PSL final.
Having lost his place in the national T20 side, this is a valuable opportunity for Miraz to showcase his skills in the shortest format.
Before the league was paused due to India-Pakistan tensions, another Bangladeshi, leg-spinner Rishad Hossain, also played for Lahore. However, Rishad is unlikely to return for the remainder of this PSL season.
Qalandars confirmed their playoff spot with 11 points from 10 matches. On Sunday night, they defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 26 runs in a rain-shortened game.
That match also marked Shakib’s debut for the team, but the 38-year-old star had a tough outing. He was dismissed for a golden duck and went wicketless in his two overs, conceding 18 runs.
Miraz, meanwhile, brings solid T20 credentials. He has scored 2,099 runs in 153 matches at a strike rate of 118.58 and taken 107 wickets at an economy of 7.55. He was also named Player of the Tournament in the most recent Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
