Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal said on Friday that he will join the forthcoming Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 competition instead of the second
version of the Sri Lankan Premier League due to uncertainty.
Tamim was picked up by St. Lucia for the inaugural edition of the franchise-based competition as a pool C player which will earn him $70,000.
Tamim had to choose between the two T20 competitions as the timing of the CPLT20 and the SLPL T20 coincided with each other.
‘I wanted to play in the SLPL but it is still uncertain,’ Tamim told reporters on Friday.
‘I have nothing to do but to opt for the CPL,’ said Tamim.
Sri Lanka’s sports minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage on June 4 said that the franchise owners were pulling out of the competition due to the financial losses incurred in the inaugural edition.
The SLPL seemed to run on thin ice following his comments.
The first edition of the league was held last year in which no Indian players took part which hampered Sri Lanka Cricket’s revenue collection. Without the Indian players, the league lost a lot of viewers from the Indian market.
Tamim was one of five Bangladeshi cricketers to feature in the inaugural edition of the SLPL T20 after being chosen by Wayamba United.
Tamim scored 190 runs in six games that included a match-winning 93 not out against Uthura Rudras during his first campaign at the SLPL making him quite certain of making a comeback in the second edition.
The CPL T20 is scheduled to start from July 30 till August 24 while the SLPL T20 is expected to start from August 1-31 though it is yet to be finalised by Sri Lanka Cricket, who is playing its role as its governing body.
Different media reports in the recent times suggested uncertainty hovering over the organising of the second SLPL after many franchises were mulling pulling out of the competition due to financial losses incurred in the first edition.
Tamim was elated to join the CPL T20 as that would help him grow as a cricketer by gaining experience through playing in different conditions.
‘I feel that playing in the CPL will benefit me personally as a cricketer,’ said Tamim.
‘A lot of good cricketers will feature in the competition and playing against them in a different condition would always help me to grow as a cricketer,’ said Tamim.
‘I am looking forward to grabbing the opportunity,’ he added.
Apart from Tamim, all-rounder Sakib al Hasan was expected to feature in the competition after being selected by Barbados as a pool A player for $100,000.
-With New Age input
