Playing in overseas leagues and competitions can be very lucrative. A player can earn a big pay day for participating in one. However, before participating in one, they need permission from their country's governing board. This permission comes in the form of an N.O.C.. It stands for a No Objection Certificate. A country's board can set a limit on the number they will issue to players. It can range from one to unlimited.
It's after their dismal performances at the recent T20 World Cup that prompted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to limit the number of N.O.C.'s they are willing to issue. They decided to only issue two per year. It's this new policy that has gotten into the news recently.
The PCB stated that the two N.O.C.s rule applies to both centrally and domestically contracted players. The board reserves the right to turn down any N.O.C. request from any player.
The board also holds the authority to refuse any N.O.C. if it believes a player’s workload and fitness are at risk or if they are needed for domestic duties. Recently, leg-spinner, Usama Mir, was denied a N.O.C. to play in England’s Vitality Blast (a T20 competition) and The Hundred, as he had already participated in two leagues this year. Despite Mir’s argument that he was free of international commitments, the board stood firm on its decision.
The PCB has also communicated to other cricket boards and franchises that any player without a PCB-issued N.O.C. is signed at their own risk. This measure is intended to ensure players adhere to the policy and manage their workload effectively, maintaining their fitness for national and domestic duties.
The PCB recently denied several players N.O.C.'s.. The PCB decided not to grant pacer, Naseem Shah, an N.O.C. to play in The Hundred (an English league) under workload management. This comes after reviewing the application submitted by the Pakistan cricketer, the decision to deny the N.O.C. has been taken as a preventive measure. It's been stated that Naseem's application has been dismissed to safeguard him from injuries since the youngster features in all three formats for Pakistan and suffered injuries and fitness challenges last year.
The PCB had decided not to grant pacer Naseem Shah the N.O.C. to play in The Hundred under workload management. The decision was made after reviewing the application submitted by the Pakistan cricketer, the decision to deny the NOC has been taken as a preventive measure. Naseem's application has been dismissed to safeguard him from injuries since the youngster features in all three formats for Pakistan and suffered injuries and fitness challenges last year.
Naseem underwent surgery in October 2023 to treat his shoulder injury. Due to the surgery, he was ruled out of the ICC World Cup 2023, which saw Pakistan crash out in the group stage.
After his surgery, doctors advised him to rest and undergo rehabilitation for a period of four to six weeks before making his return to the field. This injury kept him out of action for at least three to four months.
The PCB has additionally refused N.O.C.'s to Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for the Global T20 in Canada. In a statement, the PCB said it had decided against issuing these N.O.C.'s "after consulting with the three players and the selection committee."
They denied N.O.C.'s owing to their status as all-format international cricketers and have cited the heavy upcoming international schedule as the reason: "It should be remembered that between August 2024 and March 2025, the Pakistan cricket team has to play nine Tests of the ICC World Test Championship, the ICC Champions Trophy, 14 ODI's and nine T20is. All three cricketers play all three formats and Pakistan will need their services in the next eight months."
The PCB's denial of N.O.C.'s appears contingent on the extent of international availability of the players concerned. Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz and Asif Ali recently received N.O.C.'s for multiple T20 tournaments but with the busy Test schedule in the months ahead, the PCB has moved to prevent red-ball cricketers from tournaments in the days leading up to the series against Bangladesh in August.
The decision to pull three marquee players out of the league in Canada, as well as Naseem from the Hundred, is significant. The three-year central contracts the PCB and the players signed last year allowed for two overseas franchise competitions per year, as long as those didn't clash with international commitments.
While the contracts do state the PCB has the right to refuse N.O.C.s if it feels it is in the best interests of the Pakistan team, the decision to withdraw the players from leagues which do not directly clash with international cricket is set to cause discontent among players affected and questions around whether the allowance made in central contracts is being respected in spirit.
Afridi, in particular, had expected to be allowed to take part in the Global T20 Canada, even announcing a pullout from the Hundred last month. The N.O.C. rejections are set to go further than just the leagues over the next month. Pakistan have a virtually non-stop cricketing schedule from October 2024 to May 2025.
They play: three Tests against England at home; followed by limited-overs series in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa; a Test series in South Africa; a home Test series against West Indies; a home tri-series featuring South Africa and New Zealand; a home Champions Trophy; eight white-ball games in New Zealand and the PSL. It's understood that the PCB will entertain no N.O.C. requests during that period for all-format players, which coincides with a spate of T20 leagues.
To be honest, I'm on the fence on this issue. On the one hand, it's a good idea to perserve the fitness of the star players. On the other, they are denying fans from seeing their star players from getting hefty paychecks and local fans from seeing them play in their own respective leagues. It's a dilemma that will never be one sided. It will always be a topic that divides people.
It seems that national success overshadows big money in this case.