The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani has decided against giving No Objection Certificates (NOC) to T10 League due to concerns about the event’s credibility.
"I am holding back my position [on providing an NOC to the Pakistani players to participate in the T10] until I am fully satisfied with specifics on whose money is fueling this league," Mani told reporters in Dubai according to ESPNcricinfo.
Mani further stated that he won’t change his stance unless the International Cricket Council (ICC) formally assures the board that there are no malicious elements involved in the league.
"In fact, I have asked the ICC for reassurance because they have sanctioned it and I need it in writing that they are totally satisfied that this league has no such element that can bring Pakistan players into dispute. Unfortunately, [our players] get trapped [into sinister machinations often] so my top priority is to protect my players as, for us, reputation of Pakistan is far more important," he said.
Mani also criticised former PCB Chairman Najam Sethi’s decision to allow Pakistan players to participate in the league.
"I don't understand the rationale behind that. On what basis did [the board] commit Pakistan [players to the T10 League]?" asked Mani. "I think the only criteria that was considered was how much money the PCB and the players will get. The players' workload wasn't taken into account.”
PCB has also stopped its current players from participating in the Afghanistan Premier League (APL), or any other league, as it is first going to carry out a thorough process to reevaluate the reliability of the leagues.
"All the leagues that Pakistani players participate in, I am getting them re-examined. Whichever league our players are involved in, we need to find out with due diligence who are running the leagues and whether they are really credible. This wasn't done before [with regards to the T10 League] as there is not a single piece of paper that can tell me who are these people are behind the T10 League," he said.