IPL 2023KKR star Shakib Al Hasan opts out of tournament due to availability issues

By India Today Sports DeskBangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was signed in the auction by the Kolkata Knight Riders, has withdrawn from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Shakib has notified the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise of his inability to play this season. International commitments and personal issues are believed to be the reasons for his absence from the league’s inaugural week.

The Bangladesh T20I captain was expected to join the KKR squad in Mohali ahead of Saturday’s IPL 2023 opener against the Punjab Kings (PBKS). However, the 36-year-old was named to the only Test against Ireland, which begins tomorrow.

Shakib (36), who was bought by the franchise for a base price of Rs 1.5 crore, has reportedly called the KKR management and asked to be excused for the season, contrary to rumours that he had been released. To be clear, once a player is purchased in an auction, he cannot be released by a franchise. It is only possible after a season.

Without Shakib, KKR, who are already without their regular captain Shreyas Iyer this IPL, have David Wiese, Lockie Ferguson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Tim Southee as the other overseas players. The team has already been hampered by player absences, with full-time captain Shreyas Iyer out for at least the first half of the season due to a back injury.

So far this season, the Knight Riders have played one game, losing to the Punjab Kings in Mohali due to rain. They will play their next game at home against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday in Kolkata.

Kolkata Knight Riders squadNitish Rana (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, Narayan Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson (hamstring injury), Shreyas Iyer (back injury)