The Bangladesh national cricket team arrived in the United Arab Emirates last week for a two-match T20 series. However, players Nahid Rana and Rishad Hossain faced unexpected delays, being held up near the airport for almost three days due to visa complications.
Fortunately, the issue was resolved, and both Rishad and Rana were able to join the squad on Friday night, just a day before the first match.
Due to uncertainty over their availability, spinner Nasum Ahmed was called up from Bangladesh as a precaution. He flew to Dubai on Friday night. However, since the visa issues were sorted, Nasum is returning to Bangladesh today (Sunday) and is expected to participate in a four-day domestic match upon his return.
Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, the Head of Cricket Operations at the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), stated, “There were some visa-related complications, which is why we sent Nasum to Dubai. But now everything is fine—Nahid and Rishad have joined the team, so we are sending Nasum back. He will play in a four-day match after returning.”
Interestingly, Rishad and Rana had also returned to Bangladesh via Dubai when the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was suspended earlier this year. Now, just days later, they are back in the UAE—this time for international duty, albeit not without some trouble.
The two-match T20I series against the UAE began yesterday. Rishad and Rana were not part of the playing XI for the first match, in which Bangladesh, led by Liton Das, secured a 27-run victory.
