Rishad Hossain may soon have a tough choice to make between the Big Bash League (BBL) and the next season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), as both tournaments are expected to overlap.
The young Bangladeshi leg-spinner has been picked by the Hobart Hurricanes for a second straight season in the BBL. The reigning champions selected him in the second round of the overseas players’ draft, held Thursday in Melbourne.
Joining Rishad at Hobart are England’s pace bowler Chris Jordan and leg-spinning all-rounder Rehan Ahmed, both picked in the same draft.
Last season, Hobart also selected Rishad in the BBL draft. However, he couldn’t participate due to national duty in the West Indies and the overlapping BPL schedule.
During a nine-day gap between the West Indies tour and the BPL last December, the BCB granted Rishad a No Objection Certificate (NOC). Fortune Barishal, his BPL team, even suggested the NOC period could be extended. But due to a series of events, Rishad eventually missed the BBL.
Ahead of this year’s draft, the BBL’s official website confirmed that the 23-year-old had enrolled himself for the full season.
The 15th edition of the Big Bash is scheduled to begin in late December and continue through to the end of January. According to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP), Bangladesh has no international fixtures during that time.
However, with the T20 World Cup scheduled for February 2026, the next BPL season might be moved forward. If that happens, Rishad could face a scheduling conflict and may have to choose between playing in the BBL or the BPL.
Last year, after Shakib Al Hasan, Rishad became the first Bangladeshi cricketer in years to be picked in the BBL—also the first to be selected directly from the draft.
Shakib previously played in two BBL seasons: two matches for Adelaide Strikers in 2014 as a replacement for Johan Botha, and four matches for Melbourne Renegades in 2015, replacing Andre Russell.
Rishad truly made his mark during the last T20 World Cup, lighting up the stage with his performances in the West Indies and the USA. He took a record 14 wickets—the most by a Bangladeshi in a single edition of the tournament.
That performance opened doors internationally. He was set to play in Canada’s Global T20 League, but visa complications caused by political unrest in Bangladesh kept him out. Missing the BBL again last season only prolonged his wait to play in a foreign league.
Eventually, Rishad’s overseas journey began with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year, where he claimed 13 wickets in 7 matches, playing a key role in Lahore Qalandars’ title win.
Apart from Rishad, several other Bangladeshi players entered this year’s BBL draft, including Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Sheikh Mehedi Hasan. But none of them were picked.
