Cricket News
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan denied by NOCs to play in Global T20 Canada
The Pakistan Cricket Board has refused No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for the Global T20 in Canada. In a statement, the PCB said it decided not to issue these NOCs “after discussions with the three players and the selection committee”.
The decision comes shortly after the PCB rejected Naseem Shah’s NOC to play the Hundred last week. Naseem was signed by Birmingham Phoenix in a deal that would have seen him earn GBP 125,000.
As ESPNcricinfo reported a few days ago, the PCB was expected to deny NOCs to all four players due to their status as international cricketers, and cited the upcoming international schedule as the reason: “It should be remembered that between August 2024 and March 2025 , Pakistan cricket team has to play nine ICC World Test Championship, ICC Champions Trophy, 14 ODIs and nine T20Is. All three cricketers play all forms of cricket and Pakistan will need their help in the next eight months.”
The PCB’s denial of NOCs seems to depend on the level of foreign ownership of the players involved. Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz and Asif Ali have recently received NOCs for several T20 tournaments, but with the Test schedule busy in the coming months, the PCB has moved to ban red ball cricketers in the tournaments in the coming days. series against Bangladesh in August.
The decision to release three marquee players out of the league in Canada, along with Naseem from the Hundred, is significant. The three-year contracts the PCB signed with the players last year allowed for two overseas tournaments a year, as long as those did not conflict with international commitments. Although the contracts state that the PCB has the right to reject NOCs if it deems it to be in the best interest of the Pakistan team, the decision to withdraw players from leagues that do not directly conflict with international cricket will cause dissatisfaction among the players. concerned, and questions about whether grants made in central contracts are respected in the air.
Afridi, in particular, had expected to be allowed to participate in the Global T20 Canada, even announcing the withdrawal of the century last month. The NOC rejection is expected to go ahead of the leagues next month. Pakistan has a non-stop cricket schedule from October 2024 to May 2025.
They play three Tests against England at home, followed by a limited overs series in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, a Test series in South Africa, a home Test series against the West Indies, a home tri-series involving South Africa and New Zealand. the domestic Champions Trophy, eight white-ball matches in New Zealand, and the PSL. It is understood that the PCB will not allow NOC applications at that time for players in the format, which is in line with the T20 league series.
Bangladesh are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan in mid-August, with the two Tests in Rawalpindi and Karachi starting on August 21 and August 30 respectively.
Source link
