BBL 2020-21: Rashid Khan Could Miss Big Bash League Climax Due To Schedule Clash

Rashid Khan and other Afghanistan cricketers star Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb ur Rahman may be forced to miss a major part of the Big Bash League 2020. The reason behind this is that the Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced a One-Day series against Ireland. The Afghanistan vs Ireland series is scheduled to take place in the middle of this Australia T20 tournament.

Afghanistan vs Ireland series is going to start on January 18. The second and third ODIs of this season will be played on January 21 and 23 respectively. This upcoming series is part of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. At the same time, this series will clash with the upcoming edition of Big Bash League, starting from December 10, while the final match of BBL 2020-21 will be played on February 6.

Afghanistan will host @Irelandcricket for a three-match ODI series in January 2021. The matches which are scheduled to be held on 18th, 21st and 23rd January respectively, are part of the ODI Super League for the 2023 ICC World Cup.#AFGvIRE pic.twitter.com/gSuXZpqdLG

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) November 17, 2020

Rashid Khan, who has represented the Adelaide Strikers for the past three seasons is looking forward to playing for the Adelaide team once again. Mohammad Nabi has signed an agreement with the Melbourne Renegades, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman has signed with the Brisbane Heat. 15-year-old Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad is also committed to play in the competition for the Melbourne Renegades, while Zaheer Khan is expected to sign for the Melbourne Stars.

With Australia’s mandatory 14-day quarantine rules for travellers arriving in Australia as part of the coronavirus protocol, Afghanistan players will not have enough time to return to play for their country and the business end of the tournament. In such a situation, they will stay away from the Big Bash League against Afghanistan for about three weeks. At the same time, Rashid Khan will probably not be allowed to drop the series from the Afghanistan Cricket Board.

Rashid Khan Will likely Not be Allowed to Skip The Series by Afghanistan Cricket Board

The ODI series between Afghanistan and Ireland will be held in Abu Dhabi. Rashid Khan not being with the Adelaide Strikers for a large part of the 2020 BBL would be a huge setback for the team, as he is one of their main game-changers. It will be interesting to see if the BBL franchise, players and Afghanistan board can come to an agreement that will prevent players from missing both tournaments.