Sylhet: Nogali Express head coach Khaled Mahmood and bowling coach Talha Zubair have pulled out of the team’s practice session at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium ahead of the 2025-26 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) 2026, international media reported on Thursday.
According to a report, when the coaches reached the venue in the afternoon for practice, they found only a few balls to practice with and allegedly got into an argument with the owner, who allegedly misbehaved to get his attention.
The report added that Mahmoud and Talha left the stadium while having an animated argument on the phone with someone.
Both the coaches told local media outside the stadium that they would not be involved in any PPL-related activities before jumping into an auto rickshaw.
“I will not do PBL under any circumstances,” Mahmood told reporters at the stadium. “I have never seen this in PBL,” he added.
Talha echoed the same sentiment. “I don’t want to work, Sujon(Mahmoud) Bhai, I don’t know about you, but I don’t work,” Talha said.
However, hours later, both Mahmood and Talha returned to the training session after a close friend of the duo convinced them to reconsider their decision as it would negatively affect their respective training careers, the report added.
Notably, Nogali Express is one of the four new franchises in this season’s PBL and the last team to be brought into the tournament, which will feature six teams instead of seven.
The Express will begin their PPL 2025-26 campaign against Chattogram Royals after a curtain-raiser between home team Sylhet Titans and Rajshahi Warriors in a day-night match at the same venue on Friday.