Shakib granted NOC to play for Surrey

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been provided an NOC by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to play for Surrey County Cricket Club in the ongoing County Championship Division One 2024.

BCB's cricket operations in-charge Shahriar Nafees confirmed the development to the Daily Star, adding that the seasoned campaigner has been granted NOC for the period of September 5 to 14.

"Shakib applied for the NOC to play for Surrey on August 13. The BCB granted his NOC on August 20," Nafees said on Wednesday.

"If he is selected for the Test squad (for India tour), he will directly travel to India from England to join the squad," he added.

Shakib is currently in Pakistan with the national team, who are preparing for the second Test against the hosts, scheduled to be held between August 30 and September 3.

The national team is expected to return home from Pakistan on September 4 while Shakib, at that time, will travel to England to feature in a four-day match against Somerset in Taunton.

The Tigers will then travel to India on September 15 to face the hosts in two Tests and three T20Is, scheduled to start with the first Test in Chennai from September 19.

Kanpur will host the second Test from 27 September and the Tests will be followed by three T20Is, which will be played on October 6, 9 and 12 respectively in Gwalior, Delhi and Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, Nafees confirmed that neither Shakib nor Tamim Iqbal are yet to apply for NOC to play in the inaugural edition of the Sixty Strikes, to be hosted by the National Cricket League in the USA.

The Sixty Strikes format is a shortened, faster-paced variation of traditional cricket, designed to be played in around 90 minutes, similar to T10 cricket.

Tamim has already confirmed his participation in the tournament through a video message.

"I will be participating in the National Cricket League from October 4 to October 14 in Dallas. Hoping to see you all, especially the Bangladeshi fans. I know you are lot of them there. Really excited to be part of this tournament. See you soon," Tamim said.

Meanwhile, 10 Bangladeshi cricketers including nine male cricketer -- Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain, Jaker Ali, Taijul Islam, Rony Talukdar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shamim Hossain and Mohammad Saifuddin and one female cricketer – Jahanara Alam -- were nominated for Sunday's KFC BBL|14 and Weber WBBL|10 drafts.

On Wednesday, the league unveiled 593 overseas players -- 432 men and 161 women -- for selection in the league.

The upcoming Big Bash will take place between December 15 and January 27 while the women's edition will run between October 27 and December 1.