BREAKING: KKR's Shakib Al Hasan pulls out of IPL 2023 by mutual consent; Litton Das to be available until May 1

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has decided to skip IPL 2023 after Bangladesh didn’t allow him to be available for the entire season. KKR’s other recruitment, wicketkeeper-bat Litton Das, will join the franchise, albeit only until May 1.

With Bangladesh slated to play three ODIs in Ireland in May, a cloud of uncertainty loomed large over their IPL stars. Sportskeeda has learnt that the injury-ravaged Knight Riders wanted the two Bangladesh players available for the entire IPL. They were also hopeful of convincing the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to grant a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the same.

However, when the Knights failed to do so, they suggested Shakib pull out completely to free up a slot and ₹1.5 crore of the purse. The star all-rounder, who is on good terms with the franchise, understood their reservations and decided to withdraw from IPL 2023.

In an ODI World Cup year, one can understand the BCB’s stance. KKR are willing to sign a foreign like-for-like replacement who doesn't have national commitments.

The Bangladesh T20I skipper was initially touted to join the KKR squad in Mohali ahead of their IPL 2023 opener against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Saturday. But the 36-year-old was picked for the only Test versus Ireland starting tomorrow.

Sportskeeda understands that the same was communicated to Litton Das as well, but the dynamic opener has agreed to the limited availability. He will fly out of Dhaka once the Test match ends on April 8.

However, he is most likely to part ways after KKR play the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Kolkata on April 29. Bangladesh want to play a practice game before the first ODI begins in Chelmsford on May 9.

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Full list of KKR players for IPL 2023

Kolkata Knight Riders squad: Nitish 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)