It is understood that Shakib told Knight Riders that he would be busy playing for Bangladesh in this period, and also mentioned that he has “personal issues to attend to”, which would keep him away from the IPL.

The development also puts the spotlight on Litton, who was also signed by Knight Riders at the 2023 player auction in December. Litton will be part of the same two series Shakib will be involved in, against Ireland, but at the moment he remains part of the Knight Riders squad. There was no confirmation or clarity on whether Das, too, will opt out of the IPL.

On December 22, the day before the auction, the IPL had informed teams about the availability of overseas players. At the time, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had informed the IPL about the “limited availability” of its players. The BCB told the IPL that the Bangladesh players selected for the Ireland series would be “available from 8 April to 1 May.”

On March 18, Knight Riders had communicated to the media that Shakib would be arriving in India after the third T20I against Ireland on March 31, while Litton would arrive after the one-off Test match, which runs until April 8.

With inputs from Sreshth Shah