Never in Pakistan Again, Player in Tears: How foreigners in PSL underwent Trauma in Pakistan?

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Amid the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, the Pakistan Super League has been suspended.

After the announcement, the foreigners in the PSL left the country and one of them shared the horrific timeline of fear, agony and extreme distress.

Bangladesh leg-spinner Rishad Hossain opened up on the harrowing experience he and his fellow overseas cricketers endured as tensions between India and Pakistan escalated into cross-border hostilities.

PCB officially postponed the remainder of the T20 tournament on May 9, hours after BCCI suspended the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a week. As the situation worsened, foreign cricketers were flown out to Dubai before being routed to their respective home countries.

"Alhamdulillah, we have reached Dubai after overcoming a crisis and I am feeling well now," Rishad told reporters at Dubai Airport.

"After landing in Dubai, when we heard that a missile struck the airport 20 minutes after we took off... the news was scary as well as sorrowful, and now after reaching Dubai, we are feeling relieved," he added.

The young spinner revealed how his family back in Bangladesh was deeply worried, having followed reports of bomb blasts and missile strikes in Pakistan.

"Whenever I go out to play, my family worries for me whether the situation is good or not and now when they heard the news about Pakistan - the bomb-blasts and the missile-strikes here and there - naturally they were in tension. I personally tried to console them and tell them not to worry about me and they were quite normal."

Rishad, who was representing Lahore Qalandars, was one of two Bangladeshi players in the PSL this season alongside pacer Nahid Rana of Peshawar Zalmi. According to him, Rana was visibly disturbed by the developments.

"Nahid Rana was very quiet, maybe for the tension, as I understood. I kept telling him not to be tense and hopefully nothing would happen to us. Alhamdulillah we reached Dubai safely."

Rishad further spoke about the trauma experienced by several overseas players, naming the likes of Sam Billings, Daryl Mitchell, Kushal Perera, David Wiese, and Tom Curran as visibly shaken.

"Foreign players like Sam Billings, Daryl Mitchell, Kushal Perera, David Wiese, Tom Curran... all of them were so frightened... Landing in Dubai, Mitchell told me that he would never go to Pakistan again, especially in this kind of scenario. Overall, they all were horrified."

Recalling an emotional episode involving England's Tom Curran, Rishad revealed the former KKR pacer was crying inconsolably at the airport.

"He (Tom Curran) went to the airport, but heard that the airport was closed. Then he started crying like a little child, that it took two or three people to handle him."

The situation had reached a tipping point, forcing the PCB to reconsider its original contingency plans. Rishad revealed that the PCB initially proposed moving the remaining matches to Karachi, but that plan was abandoned following a safety review.

"The meeting was basically called to know our concerns, what we think about the current scenario. Almost all the foreign players said that the only safe place available for the later part of the tournament is Dubai," the Bangladeshi player concluded.