ISLAMABAD: The national team's players are furious with the non-issuance of no-objection certificates (NOCs) for foreign leagues by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), sources told Geo News on Monday.
According to the sources, a flood of complaints has arisen due to the non-issuance of NOCs for the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) — currently taking place.
Players have expressed strong reservations over the PCB's policy regarding NOCs for leagues, engaging in multiple discussions with team management about the matter.
In their complaints to the team management, they have stated that each player is being assessed for the issuance of NOCs under different criteria. Some players have played in the third league within a year, and they argue that NOCs should also be given to other players.
Players have emphasised that if there is no national duty, then the PCB must issue NOCs. They are questioning the utility of having two NOCs when they are not allowed to play in a complete league.
Despite no national duty, the PCB is not showing a willingness to issue the NOC, and players cannot even seek compensation for being excluded from central contracts in unfair situations.
Players have raised the question of how workload is determined. They are asking how the workload can be estimated without any medical or biomechanical tests. In cases of injustice, players can also contemplate withdrawing from central contracts.
Remember, PCB have issued NOC to Azam Khan and Shadab Khan, who already played in two leagues.
In response to Geo News' inquiry, sources confessed to tension within the board's policy, stating that if there is no permanent chairman, then the NOC policy is also not permanent. If a new chairman is appointed, a re-evaluation of the NOC policy will be considered.
It must be noted that wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris had to return from Dhaka without taking part in the BPL as PCB declined to issue him NOC.
Haris had arrived in Dhaka to represent Chattogram Challengers in the BPL's tenth edition.
However, his request for an NOC was denied by the PCB, due to his participation in two leagues since July 2023 as the reason. He played in Canada's Global T20 League in July and in the Lanka Premier League in August of 2023.
Earlier, PCB announced that they have granted NOC to feature in the forthcoming franchise-based leagues.
As per the cricket board, the NOCs were issued in line with the provisions of the players' central contracts.
"The decision was made in the best interests of all the stakeholders involved while balancing the importance of game time with workload management," the statement added.
Both leagues started on January 19.
Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Waseem Jr, Faheem Ashraf, Usman Qadir, and many other Pakistan stars are part of different BPL teams.
Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, Mohammad Amir (all Desert Vipers), and Imad Wasim (Abu Dhabi Knight Riders) will play ILT20.
Pacers Ihsanullah, Naseem Shah, and Mohammad Hasnain were not given NOCs keeping the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and T20 World Cup in mind.
Meanwhile, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris and Iftikhar Ahmed didn't get NOC for BPL. Their NOCs are on hold as they have played two leagues since July 2023.
Players who have contracts in ILT20 are exempted from this requirement since they were signed by the franchises before the central contracts.
Arfa Feroz Zake