The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has recently granted No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to four national players, allowing them to participate in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL), set to begin this weekend. According to sources reported by Geo News, the players given the green light include wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan, explosive opener Fakhar Zaman, fast bowler Mohammad Amir, and all-rounder Imad Wasim.
Azam Khan is slated to play for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, while Fakhar Zaman will be joining the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons. The same team, Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, will also welcome Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim to their ranks.
However, the PCB has declined the request for an NOC from 22-year-old opener Saim Ayub. The reason behind this decision is Ayub’s current engagement with the national Test team, which is playing a two-Test series against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.
This decision follows a similar trend from the PCB, as the board recently denied NOC requests from key players Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi for participation in the Global T20 League Canada. The primary reason cited by the PCB for this denial was to ensure that these players get adequate rest, given the packed schedule leading up to the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, which Pakistan will host from February 19 to March 9, 2025.
The PCB, led by Mohsin Naqvi, has emphasized the importance of player fitness and injury prevention, prioritizing these factors over participation in foreign leagues. The board’s current policy allows national players to participate in only two franchise cricket leagues besides the Pakistan Super League (PSL), in a bid to manage their workload and ensure they are fit and rested for international commitments.
