news

Pakistan cricketers struggling to obtain NOC for foreign leagues

Players request for NOCs is either facing delay or are being rejected

Pakistan cricketers struggling to obtain NOC for foreign leagues PHOTO COURTESY: Northamptonshire Steelbacks

Pakistan cricketers are facing difficulty in acquiring Non-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), necessary to participate in foreign Twenty20 leagues.

Cricketers request for NOCs is either facing delay or are being rejected.

According to sources, a young Test cricketer had recently sought NOC from the PCB for playing four-day matches in England and the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), even though his initial contract was only for the 2019 Vitality T20 Blast.

WATCH: Babar Azam breaks Pakistan record in T20 cricket

On facing delay, the cricketer directly contacted the PCB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wasim Khan through WhatsApp. This didn’t go down well with the PCB Director International Cricket Zakir Khan and the issue is yet to be resolved.

However, when the PCB was contacted regarding this matter, the board’s media manager said that no cricketer is being denied NOC and all-rounders Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan along with five other cricketers have already been given the go-ahead by the PCB to participate in CPL.

Malik will be leading Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL this season. The veteran all-rounder will be looking to continue his rich vein of form in the CPL from the Global T20 Canada League, where he scored 213 runs at a strike rate of 161. 

The 37-year-old is set to leave for the Caribbean from Dubai on Thursday to participate in the league.

The Caribbean Premier League is set to begin from September 4 in Port of Spain.