The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not yet granted No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to Pakistan captain Babar Azam, wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan, and pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi to participate in the Global T20 Canada league. While the PCB issued NOCs to 12 players for various leagues on Tuesday, the trio, who are in the top bracket of central contracts, are still awaiting clearance.
A PCB official stated, "The PCB is not comfortable with the status of the Global League and has sought some information from the organisers and ICC, which is why the issuance of NOCs has been delayed."
The Global T20 Canada League is scheduled from July 25 to August 11, while Pakistan's Test series against Bangladesh at home starts around August 19.
Players who were issued NOCs for different leagues include:
- Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, and Zaman Khan for the USA Major League (July 4 to 28)
- Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Hasnain, Salman Ali Agha, and Shadab Khan for the Lanka Premier League, which is already underway and ends on July 21
- Fakhar Zaman for the Caribbean Premier League (August 29 to October 6)
- Usama Mir for the Hundred (July 23 to August 20)
- Mohammad Amir for county cricket
Surprisingly, the PCB has not given clearance to youngsters Saim Ayub and Azam Khan for the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Shadab, Salman, and Hasnain are already in Sri Lanka.