Three Bangladesh players, Mustafizur Rahman, Tamim Iqbal, and Mahmudullah, have declined invitations to the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) because of concerns over COVID-19 and to show loyalty the country’s domestic league.

According to Tamim, the journey to the CPL, which is set for August 18 in Trinidad and Tobago, is long and would keep him away from his family, making it difficult to respond to emergencies.

Due to the COVID-19 there is travel restriction and route to West Indies is very long. Say I make it to the islands but there is an emergency in my family, I will not be able to return easy. I do not want to take that chance,” said Tamim.

There is also the issue of figuring out when Bangladesh’s domestic cricket will restart. The last game was played in March and it is still unknown when a restart is likely but Tamim, in particular, wants to be available when it does.

“The tournament [Dhaka Premier League] is suspended but as you know, we all are waiting for it to resume which can happen any time,” said Tamim.

Mahmudullah and Tamim have played in the CPL before, the former for the Jamaica Tallawahs and the Bangladesh captain for the St Lucia Zouks.