PCB includes ‘significant changes’, says domestic cricket is ‘compulsory’ for players

The PCB is considering “several significant changes” to the status of international cricketers’ obligations in Pakistan cricket, with possible impacts on the ability to obtain NOCs, participation in domestic cricket and changes to the intermediate contracts agreed last year.

However, the content of those important changes, remains hidden. The 500-word statement that was specific – and not released through official channels or uploaded on the PCB’s official website – said domestic cricket has become “compulsory for players”. The board also announced that a “technical method” will be established to issue NOCs, and only players who meet the criteria of that method will be given NOCs. It appears that the average contract duration has been reduced to one year, marking a reversal of the historic three-year contracts announced last year.

However, despite the potentially far-reaching implications of the change, no specific information has been provided on what these changes will entail and how they will come into effect. Mohammad Rafiullah – the spokesman for the chairman of the board Mohsin Naqvi – told ESPNcricinfo that committees will be formed to properly draft: design the technical method of NOCs, the preparation of the central contract, and how many international cricketers will be present. required to play.

The first statement did not mention the establishment of any committee, and it is not yet clear whether one committee will be tasked with all three tasks, or whether three different committees will be formed to handle one task each. Rafiullah told ESPNcricinfo that the committees – which are not yet in place – will submit their findings for implementation within 15 days.

The statement made it clear that the salary of the mid-contract players will not be cut, a punitive move that early reports indicated was being considered after Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign. It also said that “the inclusion of players in the various sectors of the central contract will follow a set process” without detailing how this process will be defined.

In another statement, uploaded on the PCB’s official website, Australian wicketkeeper Tony Hemming has been appointed as the general manager on a two-year contract. It comes ahead of Pakistan’s busy domestic season, which includes seven Tests, three series and the ICC Champions Trophy.