Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials said on Wednesday that they are yet to decide on Rishad Hossain's participation in the upcoming SA20, with the tournament likely to overlap with the next edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Rishad became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to be signed by an SA20 franchise after joining Sunrisers Eastern Cape for the 2027 season. However, his availability remains uncertain as the SA20 is scheduled to run from January 9 to February 4, a window during which the BPL is also expected to be held.

While the BPL Governing Council is yet to announce the dates for the next season, the tournament is likely to take place between January and February as the board looks to bring in leading corporate houses to avoid the payment issues that plagued previous editions.

As things stand, Rishad could miss a second successive BPL season after sitting out the previous edition while representing Hobart Hurricanes in Australia's Big Bash League (BBL). However, BCB officials insisted no decision has been taken yet.

"If the BPL doesn't take place then, there are no problems. If it does (two competitions overlapping), board will have look into it and take a decision," a BCB official told Cricbuzz.

"This is today's news (Rishad picked in SA20) and after the auction they will apply for the NOC and later the board will consider it. Previously, Hobart Hurricanes had applied for him beforehand, but recently no such thing had happened so now that he has got a team he will apply and the board will take a decision," he said.

"Each and every single NOC is treated on an individual basis and just because it happened once (Rishad missing BPL for Big Bash) doesn't mean it will happen again. Now, when he applies for the NOC to take part in SA20, the board will decide whether to allow him or not at the expense of missing the BPL if it is scheduled during that point of time," he added.

Rishad heads into the SA20 on the back of a strong run in franchise cricket. He claimed 12 wickets for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League before enjoying another impressive campaign with Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL, where he picked up 15 wickets in 11 innings to finish as the joint-leading wicket-taking spinner of the tournament.