Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain has revealed the terrifying ordeal faced by overseas cricketers in the wake of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025 being suspended amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan.
Speaking from Dubai on Saturday, Rishad confirmed that all foreign players, including himself, had been safely evacuated to the UAE after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) halted the tournament.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Rishad, who was part of the Lahore Qalandars squad, said the fear among overseas players was palpable.
Who's that IPL player?"Foreign players like Sam Billings, Daryl Mitchell, Kushal Perera, David Wiese, Tom Curran… all of them were so frightened," he told Cricbuzz. The situation escalated to such an extent that New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell made a strong declaration: "Landing in Dubai, Mitchell told me that he would never go to Pakistan again, especially in this kind of scenario."
One of the most emotionally affected was England's Tom Curran, who broke down at the airport upon learning it had been shut. "He started crying like a little child. It took two or three people to handle him," Rishad said.
The cricketers were airlifted to Dubai, from where they would take connecting flights home.
"We have reached Dubai after overcoming a crisis, and I am feeling well now," Rishad added. "We later heard a missile struck the airport just 20 minutes after our departure. That was both scary and heartbreaking."
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