‘Relieved’ Rishad recounts frightening ordeal as overseas players depart Pakistan

Bangladesh legspinner Rishad Hossain said he and other overseas players were relieved to reach Dubai after enduring a tense few days at the Pakistan Super League (PSL), amid escalating border tensions between India and Pakistan.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the postponement of the T20 league on May 9, just hours after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended the Indian Premier League 2025 season (IPL) for a week.

Overseas players in the PSL were flown out to the UAE from where they were booked on connecting flights to their final destinations.

"Alhamdulillah, we have reached Dubai after overcoming a crisis and I am feeling well now," Rishad told reporters at Dubai Airport.

"After landing in Dubai when we heard that a missile struck the airport 20 minutes after we took off from the airport. The news was scary as well as sorrowful and now after reaching Dubai we are feeling relieved," he said, adding that his family spent some sleepless nights.

"Whenever I go out to play, my family worries for me whether the situation is good or not and now when they heard the news about Pakistan – the bomb-blasts and the missile-strikes here and there- -naturally they were in tension.

"I personally tried to console them and tell them not to worry about me and they were quite normal," he added.

Leg spinner Rishad (Lahore Qalandars) and pacer Nahid Rana (Peshawar Zalmi) were the two Bangladeshi players participating in PSL 2025. Rishad said that Rana was visibly shaken by the unfolding events.

"Nahid Rana was very quiet, maybe for the tension, as I understood. I kept telling him not to be tense and hopefully nothing would happen to us. Alhamdulillah we reached Dubai safely," said Rishad, adding that other foreign players were also shaken up by the ongoing crisis near the border.

"Foreign players like Sam Billings, Daryl Mitchell, Kushal Perera, David Wiese, Tom Curran… all of them were so frightened… Landing in Dubai, Mitchell told me that he would never go to Pakistan again, especially in this kind of scenario. Overall, they all were horrified," said Rishad.

Recounting Tom Curran's plight, Rishad added: "He (Tom Curran) went to the airport, but heard that the airport was closed. Then he started crying like a little child, that it took two or three people to handle him," he added.

Rishad also mentioned that the PCB chairman initially wanted to hold the remaining PSL matches in Karachi, but the decision changed after players raised safety concerns in a meeting with Mohsin Naqvi.

"The meeting was basically called to know our concerns, what we think about the current scenario. Almost all the foreign players said that the only safe place available for the later part of the tournament is Dubai.

"Yes, the PCB Chairman tried to convince us to conduct the remaining matches in Karachi. At that time he tried to hide from us that there were two drone attacks just the day before which we came to know later. Later all of us took the decision (to shift to Dubai) and the PCB Chairman helped us a lot to reach Dubai safely by the grace of Almighty Allah. Thanks to him and the Pakistan Cricket Board," he concluded.