ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has denied NOCs to three leading cricketers to figure in the Global T20 League starting in Canada from July 25.
After considering all the important aspects, the PCB has rejected three top cricketers Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan’s NOC request. Four cricketers with an uncertain future as national team members including Mohammad Iftikhar, Mohammad Amir, Asif Ali, and Mohammad Nawaz have been given permission to play for their respective teams at the Global League. Both Iftikhar and Nawaz are centrally contracted players. “Since Babar, Shaheen, and Rizwan are important part of the all-format teams, the PCB has decided not to risk their fitness. Since Pakistan is facing a tough international schedule ahead that runs till March-April, the PCB has decided not to issue NOCs to leading cricketers to keep them in a better shape for the national commitments,” says a PCB handout. Pakistan’s international commitments for the season 2024-25 start with the two-Test match series against Bangladesh later in August. Fast bowler Naseem Shah has already been denied NOC for The Hundred to get underway in England in a few days. Though the PCB has termed the rejection of NOC to top cricketers a part of the players’ management programme, it is believed that the poor performance of the trio during the disastrous T20 World Cup campaign is the reason behind the rejection. The PCB has decided in principle to make all possible efforts to keep the top players ready and in the best of shape for the international commitments. At the same time, it is believed that players are made to realise that it is the national cricket that is of utmost importance not the cash-rich leagues.
