Cricket legend and President of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Kapil Dev on Monday said no decision has been taken yet on whether Bangladeshi players will be allowed to compete on the PGTI Tour.<\/p>\n
His remarks come in the wake of the Bangladesh Cricket Board\u2019s (BCB) decision not to send its national cricket team to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup, citing security concerns and government advice. The situation followed the release of Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman by IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders on the BCCI\u2019s instruction.<\/p>\n
When asked about the possible exclusion of Bangladeshi golfers from the PGTI Tour, Kapil said the matter is yet to be discussed. \u201cWe\u2019ll sit down and talk about the recent issue. We haven\u2019t taken any decision on it yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Several prominent golfers from Bangladesh, including Jamal Hossain, Md Siddikur Rahman and Md Akbar Hossain, currently compete on the PGTI circuit. Kapil, however, declined to comment on the BCB\u2019s reported move to approach the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the issue.<\/p>\n
The former India captain was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of one of the franchises of \u201872 The League\u2019, a new franchise-based golf league conceptualised by the PGTI. The league aims to introduce a team format in a sport traditionally dominated by individual competition.<\/p>\n
Kapil said India needs to explore team-based structures in golf to accelerate the sport\u2019s growth, drawing parallels with cricket\u2019s transformation following the advent of the Indian Premier League (IPL).<\/p>\n
\u201cI played cricket, a team game. Golf, on the other hand, is an individual sport. But India needs a team format in golf as well,\u201d he said. Emphasising the impact of team dynamics, Kapil added that while individual excellence will always remain central to golf, a collective format brings a different energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndividual brilliance will always prevail, but team sport hits different. Our vision is to make golfers experience team sport,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kapil further said the league\u2019s primary aim is to promote golfers and give them a stronger platform. \u201cA golfer should talk more. We are here just to promote them. Like cricket, only cricketers should talk about it and no one else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Referring to the IPL\u2019s influence, Kapil noted that the league model has proven its ability to reshape sports in India. \u201cAfter what happened in cricket after the IPL, we are trying to replicate that in other sports as well. This league is a step in that direction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
UP Prometheans were announced as the first franchise of \u201872 The League\u2019, with five more franchises expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cricket legend and President of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Kapil Dev on Monday said no decision has been taken yet on whether Bangladeshi players will be allowed to compete on the PGTI Tour. His remarks come in the wake of the Bangladesh Cricket Board\u2019s (BCB) decision not to send its national cricket […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,36],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3838","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national","8":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n