IPL 2021: Bangladesh stars Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman fly to Dhaka on charter flight

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and Rajasthan Royals (RR) seamer Mustafizur Rahman landed in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Thursday (May 6) afternoon, confirmed the Kolkata-based franchise.

Amid a spurt in COVID-19 cases in India, the Bangladesh government is not allowing commercial flights from India to land in the country. However, it is learnt that a charter flight from Delhi was arranged for the duo. While RR had their Delhi leg going on when the tournament was halted, Shakib flew from Ahmedabad to join Mustafizur at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

KKR updated their travel status on social media, along with an in-flight picture of Shakib Al Hasan and a message in Bengali for the two.

✈️ #KKR Overseas Players' Travel Update: Thank you @Sah75official, happy to know you've landed home safely in Dhaka with Bangladesh teammate @Mustafiz90 from Ahmedabad. Stay safe, and see you soon - ভাল থেকো 💜#KorboLorboJeetbo #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/pgSCwcAKOG

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 6, 2021

As per reports, both Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine at a government facility in Dhaka. While the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) did try to get the period reduced, the government authorities didn’t give in to the request.

As the virus breached the IPL 2021 bio-secure bubbles, the 14th edition of the cash-rich league was indefinitely suspended on Tuesday (May 4). The decision led to widespread commotion in IPL circles, with the overseas players in particular scampering to draw up possible return options.

---

How did Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman fare in IPL 2021?

Mustafizur Rahman returned impressive figures of 3 for 20 against SRH on the last matchday on May 2 [Credits: IPL]

IPL 2021 was supposed to be the comeback tournament for Shakib Al Hasan, who missed the second half of 2019 and the entirety of 2020 owing to the ICC’s one-year ban on him for failing to report corrupt approaches.

The 34-year-old was picked ahead of Sunil Narine for KKR’s first three matches, but lost his place to the West Indies all-rounder for the next four games. In those three outings, Shakib Al Hasan scored 38 runs at a modest strike rate of 97.43 and picked up two wickets at an economy of 8.10.

Mustafizur Rahman was the best Bangladeshi cricketer in IPL 2021. He was helped by many of RR’s foreign stars either getting injured or withdrawing from the tournament due to various reasons. The 25-year-old pacer played all seven games for the Sanju Samson-led side, scalping 8 wickets at an economy of 8.29.

Both of them will now be seen in action during the three-match home ODI series against Sri Lanka starting May 23.