The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided not to issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to national cricket team captain Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi for the Global T20 tournament in Canada.
According to a statement issued by the PCB, they received NOC requests from Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi for the Global T20.
The statement said that after consultation with the selection committee and considering the unusual busyness of the Pakistan cricket team, the PCB decided not to issue NOCs to these three cricketers.
According to the board, from August 2024 to March 2025, the Pakistan cricket team has to play 9 Test matches of the ICC World Test Championship.
Additionally, the ICC Champions Trophy is to be held next year in Pakistan. Therefore, Pakistan will play 9 Tests, 14 One Day Internationals, and 9 T20 Internationals during this period.
Hence, these three cricketers, being key players in all formats, will be needed by Pakistan in the next 8 months.
Considering the PCB’s workload management policy and in the best interest of Pakistan cricket and the players, it is important that these players skip the event in Canada to be in their best mental and physical condition for the season starting with the two-match Test series against Bangladesh.
Previously, the PCB had also not issued an NOC to Naseem Shah for The Hundred based on the same grounds.The PCB has approved NOCs for Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Nawaz.
These four players are primarily white-ball cricketers, although Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz are centrally contracted cricketers.