The Pakistan players and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are once again in a dispute over the No Objection Certificate (NOC) matter. The issuance of the NOC has been a point of contention between the two parties for quite some time.
It seemed that both parties had found common ground when the players eventually signed the central contracts during the World Cup last year after a prolonged standoff. However, things have taken a turn for the worse in recent days as PCB has denied several players the NOC to play in overseas T20 leagues, especially in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
The likes of Mohammad Haris, Zaman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed as well as Fakhar Zaman were denied NOC to play in the BPL, as per reports in Pakistani media. Unlike other players, Haris had already reached Bangladesh to prepare for the tournament before the PCB denied him the required permission to play. As a result, he had to return home.
Players distracted due to uncertain PCB NOC policy:
A report in Cricket Pakistan has stated that the players were distracted due to PCB’s NOC policy and it is one of the reasons behind Pakistan’s poor performance in Australia and New Zealand. Pakistan managed to win just one game during the two tours.
They suffered a humiliating whitewash in the three-match Test series in Australia before going down 0-4 in the five-match T20I series in New Zealand. They managed to win the final game to avoid another whitewash. The report stated that the team management was dissatisfied with the players’ attitude, asserting that their focus was on NOCs.
While the likes of Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi urged the players to focus on their performances, it did not make much of a difference. Team Director Mohammad Hafeez was also dissatisfied with the situation. Things are unlikely to get clear soon as PCB is currently without a chief after Zaka Ashraf stepped down from the post.
