NEW DELHI: Cricket great and current PGTI president Kapil Dev on Monday clarified that no call has been made so far on the participation of Bangladeshi players in events conducted by the Professional Golf Tour of India.

His remarks came a day after the Bangladesh Cricket Board opted not to send its national team to India for next month's T20 World Cup, citing security issues and government advisories. The decision followed the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders releasing pacer Mustafizur Rahman after receiving instructions from the BCCI.

"We'll sit down and talk about the recent issue. We haven't taken any decision on it yet," Kapil said when asked about the possibility of excluding Bangladesh players from competing on the PGTI Tour.

Several leading Bangladeshi golfers, including Jamal Hossain, Md Siddikur Rahman and Md Akbar Hossain, are currently part of the PGTI circuit.

Kapil, however, chose not to comment on the Bangladesh Cricket Board's reported move to approach the ICC over the issue.

The 1983 World Cup-winning captain was speaking on the sidelines of the unveiling of a franchise team for '72 The League', a new PGTI-backed, franchise-based golf competition designed to bring a team-oriented structure to what has traditionally been an individual sport.

Kapil said India needs to explore team-based structures in golf to fast-track the sport's growth, drawing parallels with cricket's transformation after the Indian Premier League.

"I played cricket, a team game. Golf on the other hand is an individual sport. But India needs a team format in golf as well," said the former all-rounder.

Highlighting the impact of team dynamics, Kapil said while individual excellence will always remain central to golf, a collective format brings a different energy.

"Individual brilliance will always prevail but team sport hits different. Our vision is to make golfers taste team sport,” he said.

Kapil added that the league's role is to promote golfers and give them a stronger voice.

"A golfer should talk more, we are here just to promote them. Similar to cricket, only cricketers should talk about it and no one else," he said.

Referring to the IPL's influence on Indian sport, Kapil said the league model has proven its ability to change the landscape.

"After what happened in cricket after the Indian Premier League, we are trying to replicate that in other sports as well and this league is just a step towards that,” he said.

UP Prometheans were announced as the first franchise of '72 The League', with five more franchises set to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

(With PTI Inputs)