LAHORE: Sources have revealed the reasons behind mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed’s sudden withdrawal from the 12th edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Jio is super On Thursday.

Abrar is said to have been picked by the Chattogram Royals for the tournament. However, sources confirmed that his name was included in the PBL auction without his prior consent.

Abrar said the owner’s management included him in the auction list, but when approached, he did not give any consent to participate.

Following this, the Royals decided to replace him with another player and informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (PCB) about the situation.

Ahead of the tournament, emerging Pakistani talents like Ihsanullah, all-rounder Jahandad Khan and middle-order batsman Haider Ali attracted significant attention in the player auction held on November 30.

Fast bowler Ihsanullah, who has represented Pakistan in one ODI and four T20Is, received the highest bid, joining Nogali Express for USD 28,000 in the category C foreign players category.

The right-arm pacer was earlier signed by Rangpur Riders but did not feature in any match.

Haider Ali, with 37 international appearances, was bought by the same owner for US$20,000. He has previous PPL experience, having played 13 matches and scored 213 runs at an average of 26.62, with a top score of 48.

Jahandad Khan, who made his T20I debut against Australia last November and played eight T20Is for Pakistan, was picked by Darbar Rajshahi for USD 20,000 in the same category.

The trio will join five other Pakistani players who were signed directly ahead of the auction: Saim Ayub, Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan, Khawaja Nafe and Sahibzada Farhan.

Usman was signed by Dhaka Capitals while Saim Ayub and Mohammad Amir were confirmed by Sylhet Titans. Rangpur Raiders signed young wicketkeeper-batsman Khawaja Nafai and Rajshahi Warriors brought in emerging top-order batsman Farhan.

This season, the PPL will have five teams, down from seven last year.

Dhaka Capitals and Rangpur Raiders will return from the 2024-25 season, while Chattogram, Rajshahi and Sylhet have undergone ownership changes.

As a result, Chittagong Kings, Durbar Rajshahi and Sylhet Strikers left the league, giving way to the renamed Chattogram Royals, Rajshahi Warriors and Sylhet Titans.

Defending champions Fortune Parrishall and Khulna Tigers will not feature in this edition.

The matches will begin on December 26 with Sylhet Titans and Rajshahi Warriors at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.

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