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IPL vs PSL: PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi promises action against players opting out

IPL vs PSL: PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi promises action against players opting out

IPL vs PSL: PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi promises action against players opting out Photograph: (AFP)

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On Sunday, Dasun Shanaka became the latest to leave the PSL for the Rajasthan Royals after Sam Curran was injured and will miss the entire IPL 2026. Earlier, Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani opted to part ways with PSL, joining Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi has vowed to take action against players opting out of Pakistan Super League (PSL) for the Indian Premier League after Dasun Shanaka joined the trend on Sunday (Mar 22). On Sunday, Shanaka became the latest to leave the PSL for the Rajasthan Royals after Sam Curran was injured and will miss the entire IPL 2026. Earlier, Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani opted to part ways with PSL, joining Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Naqvi promises action against players opting out of PSL

"We will take action against those players according to the rules. There was a case last year, too [Corbin Bosch, who was banned from the PSL for one year], and the same thing will happen this time,” Naqvi said in a press conference on Sunday.

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“Clashing with the IPL is not an issue because if players are going there, we're getting excellent players coming here as well. We could not afford to postpone the PSL because we have no other window all year," Naqvi added.

Shanaka, a lower-order batter and medium-pace bowler who led Sri Lanka at the recent T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, comes in with good batting form: he hit a 20-ball 50 against Oman and 76 not out in 31 balls against Pakistan. He has played one season of the IPL in the past, in 2023, when he played three games for the Gujarat Titans (GT) with unspectacular returns.

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He becomes the second player to walk away from his PSL team to join an IPL franchise in the past few days after Blessing Muzarabani opted out of his deal with Islamabad United once Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) reached out to him to be a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman, who the team had to release on instructions from the BCCI because of geopolitical tensions between India and Bangladesh.

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Aditya Vidyadhar Pimpale

Parth Seth is a research fellow at India Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank, where he studies the themes of development, foreign policy, and multilateralism, particularly in ...Read More