The Pakistan Cricket Board has rejected requests for No Objection Certificates from senior players Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi to participate in the Global T20 League due to the busy international schedule.
The board stated, “The PCB had received NOC requests from Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi for the Global T20 event, amongst other players.
“After taking into consideration Pakistan’s 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’s 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,” the board said in a statement.
The Canadian league will be held from July 25 to August 11. The PCB clarified that the above decision had been made for managing the workload of the said three players, who are most likely to feature in every cricket fixture in the near future.
"The 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 T20Is," read the statement.
"As such, and in line with the PCB’s 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."
Additionally, the PCB declined permission to Naseem Shah for The Hundred citing similar reasons. However, the board granted NOCs to Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Nawaz.
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