PCB Implements Strict NOC Policy by Refusing Permission to Star Players Baber, Shaheen, Naseem and Rizwan to Play Overseas Leagues

DR Cricket looks at the recent tightening of the screws by Pakistan’s cricket governing body

Following a disastrous T20 World Cup campaign for the team Pakistan – where they managed to lose to USA and India from a winning position – questions have been raised on players’ fitness, performances, priorities and team management. The PCB has responded in keen earnest by putting its administrative foot down.

Thankfully, the “surgery” that Mohsin Naqvi, PCB’s top man, had famously promised even before the World Cup had concluded, turned out be a protracted treatment of the malaise rather than a short, swift procedure. He seems to have understood that reforms need to be deep-rooted instead of being cosmetic.

He himself, though, cannot be absolved of acting hastily with short-sighted measures of bringing back Muhammad Amir and Imad Wasim and reinstating Baber Azam as the captain of the national side. These actions did more harm than good. The team that landed in the USA was a divided lot. Reportedly, Shaheen was still sulking after being removed from captaincy on the evidence of just one series. And rightly so.

The chairman of the PCB has been quick to make the purges. Wahab Riaz, who apparently had the boss’s ear, bore the brunt and lost his job, along with Abdul Razaq who, too, was removed from his post as the national selector. The criticism was astutely deflected towards them.

Nevertheless, no power can rival that of the PCB. Not even the player power, no matter how big the star. The cricket governing authority, which had been quite lax for too long, decided it’s time to show its muscle. Consequently, the hammer fell on the players who, apparently, were a “house divided against itself.” One gathers, from hints dropped discretely to the media by PCB officials, that national duty would be preferred over franchise cricket, that fitness and discipline would be non-negotiable and that playing domestic cricket would be mandatory if one were to harbour any desire to play for the country. One only wonders why it wasn’t the case before the debacle in America.

The latest manifestation of this tightening of reigns is evident in the PCB’s issuance or non-issuance of NOCs in favour of players wanting to play franchise cricket. Not only were the squibbing brats given a rap on the knuckles, but were also grounded till they exhibited better conduct.

The luckless Usama Mir – who DR cricket opined in a previous article was unlucky to be dropped from the World Cup squad despite being the highest wicket taker in the PSL – was the first to be denied an NOC to play for The Hundred in England as he has used up his quota of two overseas franchise leagues in a year. A bit hard done, one would say, but if the standard is to be upheld across the board, we hope Usama will understand.

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Ostensibly, it does. The bigger, all-format stars were soon to find out. NOCs were refused to Baber Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Muhammad Rizwan and Naseem Shah for the Global T20 league and The Hundred, even though, according to the terms of the central contract, players are allowed 2 leagues in a year, apart from the PSL, at the same time making themselves available for international cricket, were they to be summoned by the PCB. However, the board reserves the right to deny NOC requests based on other factors such as player workload, fitness concerns, or domestic team obligations.

PCB used it’s right to refuse Baber, Rizwan and Shaheen NOCs for the upcoming event in Canada. This decision aligns with their workload management policy, aiming to keep the players mentally and physically fit for Pakistan’s busy cricket schedule. Pakistan is set to play nine Tests, 14 ODIs, and nine T20Is in the next eight months, starting with a series against Bangladesh.

When it comes to Naseem Shah, he was also denied NOC for the same reason and probably due to his injuries in the past. Naseem Shah missed quite a few important tournaments and matches in the past due to fitness issues. The T20 World Cup 2021, ODI world Cup 2023 and Pakistan’s tour of Australia 2023/24 were all missed by Naseem Shah due to injuries. However, he was always available for the PSL and other leagues.

Lastly, Saim Ayub and Azam Khan were not allowed to travel for CPL 2024. The main reasons for them are that they have played 2 leagues for the year and another league for them is not possible.

NOCs were given to Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Nawaz to take part in T20 leagues as all of them are white ball players. Moreover, since Muhammad Amir and Asif Ali are not contracted players, they were accorded NOCs as contract policies would not apply to them.

So, for the time being, it’s either playing for the national team and, if not selected, then making their skills available for their respective domestic sides for all the centrally contracted players. With an increased budget for domestic cricket and availability of quality players, one hopes that the first-class cricket may find its feet once again. But much remains to be seen, especially how the funds are spent. The pitches and playing conditions, for instance, must receive the bulk of attention.

Only time will tell how successful these measures are. Let’s hope a trip to the operation theatre is not required after the World Test Championship and the Champions Trophy 2025.