Owais Shah not to play BPL due to personal reasons

Owais Shah will not take any further part in this season's Bangladesh Premier League due to personal reasons.

Shah, currently in the UK, was supposed to return to Dhaka sometime around February 9 but after a relative died, he decided not to come back.

"I will not be able to fly back to Dhaka to take further part in the BPL due to a family emergency. I have to stay at home and support my family in this difficult time. I would like to wish the Dhaka gladiators all the best in the rest of the tournament," Shah communicated in a statement.

He has played seven matches for the Dhaka Gladiators but left the country on February 3. He will miss the Gladiators' last four games.

"He [Owais Shah] was due to return to Dhaka around the 9th but due to a death in the family, this will no longer be possible," the statement said.

"The death in Owais' family was unrelated to the reasons why he was returning home initially."

Shah was embroiled in a pay dispute with the Bangladesh Cricket Board days before he left. After it transpired that there was an error in the bank details he had provided to the BCB, which caused the delay in payment, Shah had admitted his mistake. But it was made clear in the statement that his pull-out was due to other reasons.

"Owais would like to make clear that the reasons for his return home were family related and had been accepted by Dhaka Gladiator's team management around two weeks before he left."