Marred by Injuries Ahead of ODI World Cup, Pakistan Limit Participation of Players in T20 Leagues

The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to put a cap on the number of foreign T20 leagues that the centrally contracted players can appear in during the year, as disagreements between the players and the board over several clauses of the contracts continue to persist.

Injuries to fast bowlers Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and other pacers like Muhammad Hasnain, Ehsanaullah and Hasan Ali before the World Cup have prompted the PCB to take a strong stand, as the new central contracts are yet to be signed by the players.

Zaka Ashraf, who heads the Cricket Management Committee currently running the PCB affairs, told the Pakistani media in Colombo that the players who have the A-Plus and A contracts would only be allowed to play one T20 league besides the Pakistan Super League.

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He said the board would also have the authority to withdraw or cancel any NOC it has issued to a player for a foreign league if it feels it could be detrimental to the interests of Pakistan cricket.

“The players want to be compensated if this situation evolves,” he said.

Pakistan have some injury woes in the build-up to the World Cup in India.

Naseem has been virtually ruled out of the World Cup, while the others also struggle with fitness issues.

Hasan Ali fractured his thumb while playing in the Lanka Premier League.

Also, before the Asia Cup this year, PCB surprised everyone by issuing NOCs right and left to players for different leagues, including The Hundred, LPL, Canada Global League, Caribbean Premier League, etc.

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Many former players and experts are now blaming the PCB for not managing the players’ workload before the Asia Cup and World Cup.

A reliable source in the PCB also told PTI that in the new central contracts, delayed since the end of June, the board has also added clauses that made it clear that top players would not be issued NOCs two months before any premier tournament or bilateral series.

The contracts’ issue remains unresolved since the players’ agents have advised them to reject several clauses put in by the PCB.

One clause pertains to it being mandatory for the players to get permission from the board before even submitting their names for any T20 draft.

Secondly, players will have to get clearance before signing any commercial/endorsement deals and are bound to give five to six hours to the official sponsors of the board for commercials, promotions and endorsements.

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Zaka told the media that the contracts would be issued soon, and the board had made big enhancements in the monthly retainers, match fees and other areas for players because it wanted the players to focus more on Pakistan cricket.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)