Afghani cricket duty rules Nabi out of BBL

Melbourne Renegades allrounder Mohammad Nabi will miss the BBL finals after the Afghanistan Cricket Board requested his early release to join up with the national squad.

Afghanistan are preparing for a series against Ireland featuring three Twenty20 matches, five one day internationals and a Test match, with the series opening T20 scheduled for February 21.

It was expected Nabi would be available for the BBL finals campaign before the request came through late this week.

He is expected to join the Afghanistan base in India on Sunday.

"We're disappointed to lose a player on the eve of the finals series but we understand the rules around international call ups and know there can be some unpredictability around when players are called into camp," said Renegades coach Andrew McDonald.

"Nabi has been a valuable contributor throughout the season and his skills with bat and ball as well as leadership abilities will be missed.

"There is now an exciting opportunity for someone to come into the team and play an important role for us."

Nabi, 34, scored 228 and took eight wickets for the third-placed Renegades.