LAHORE
\nThe Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has declined Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi\u2019s respective requests for NOC\u2019s to participate in the Global T20 \u2014 a franchise tournament to be played in Canada this month.
\nIn an announcement regarding the matter late on Friday night, the PCB said the decision was in accordance with the board\u2019s workload management policy, given Pakistan\u2019s packed cricket calendar from August to March next year.
\n\u201cThe PCB had received NOC requests from Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi for the Global T20 event, amongst other players,\u201d read the statement. \u201cAfter taking into consideration Pakistan\u2019s busy and packed cricket calendar in the period from August 2024 to March 2025, which includes nine ICC World Test Championship matches and next year\u2019s ICC Champions Trophy 2025, and following consultations with the three players as well as the national selection committee, it has been decided to decline their requests.\u201d
\nThe PCB believed Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen\u2019s status as \u201call-format\u201d cricketers did not allow the board to let the star trio participate in a franchise T20 tournament.
\n\u201cThe three are all-format cricketers and their services are expected to be required in the upcoming eight months during which Pakistan will play nine Tests, 14 ODIs, and nine T20Ism\u201d said the PCB. \u201cAs such, and in line with the PCB\u2019s workload management policy, it is in the best interest of Pakistan cricket and the players that they skip the upcoming event in Canada so that they are in their best mental and physical shape for the season, which commences with the two-Test series against Bangladesh.\u201d
\nEarlier, the PCB had also declined permission to Naseem Shah for The Hundred on the same grounds.
\nAccording to a report by the Press Trust of India news agency earlier on Friday, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi held discussions with coaches Jason Gilliespie and Gary Kirsten, who were also not in favour of allowing these players to participate in the GT20.
\nIn the meantime, the board has approved NOCs for Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Nawaz. The four players are predominantly white-ball cricketers, while Iftikhar and Nawaz are centrally contracted players.
\nPakistan have a packed international schedule in 2024-25 and earlier this week the PCB also confirmed that they would play five T20Is and three ODIs in New Zealand after the Champions Trophy in February-March.
\nPakistan is hosting Bangladesh, England and West Indies at home and will also visit South Africa, Australia and New Zealand in all-format rubbers.
\nThe PCB will also host a triangular series with New Zealand and South Africa as a curtain raiser to the Champions Trophy.
\nHowever, the PCB chairman or national selectors have still not had a proper meeting with the senior players including Babar after the team\u2019s disastrous campaign in the T20 World Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has declined Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi\u2019s respective requests for NOC\u2019s to participate in the Global T20 \u2014 a franchise tournament to be played in Canada this month. In an announcement regarding the matter late on Friday night, the PCB said the decision was in accordance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":419657,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-419641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n