PCB unlikely to grant NOC to Babar Azam, Mohammed Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi for Global T20 Canada

Pakistan cricket team’s senior players Babar Azam, Mohammed Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi might be denied NOCs for Global T20 Canada League 2024 from the Pakistan Cricket Board.

The trio of Babar Azam, Mohammed Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi is considered as Pakistan’s best. (Photo – Getty Images)

New Delhi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to deny a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to senior players Babar Azam, Muhammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi to feature in the upcoming Global T20 Canadian League, owing to a busy international calendar. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi held discussions with coaches Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten, who also vouched for the board’s proposal.

The coaching duo wasn’t in favor of allowing these players to participate in the GT20, a credible source in the board revealed. As the troika features in all three formats for the national team, this too influenced the board’s decision, said the source.

“The board has allowed NOCs to some of those players who are not all format players like Shadab Khan to play in some leagues. But since Babar, Shaheen, and Rizwan play in all formats the case is different for them,” the source said. As pacer Naseem Shah wasn’t given an NOC to play in the Hundred in England earlier, the source attributed it to the same reason.

The source however conceded that the board is expecting resentment from the players and their agents as their GT20 contracts are quite luring in terms of money. “The Canadian league is yet to get its clearance from the ICC as well,” the source added.

Pakistan’s international calendar ahead

The Men in Green have a packed international schedule in the 2024-25 cycle and just a week earlier, PCB confirmed that they will be playing five T20Is and three ODIs in New Zealand after the Champions Trophy in February-March which they will be hosting. The nation will also host Bangladesh, England, and West Indies at home for further series and will also pay a visit to South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand for all-format matches.

The PCB will also set to host a triangular series with New Zealand and South Africa in the build-up to the Champions Trophy. The Pakistan team endured a disastrous campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 and the PCB chairman or national selectors have still not had a proper meeting with the senior players in wake of it.