• NOCs denied after consultation with players, selection committee.
• PCB stresses workload management policy behind its decision.
• Says trio are all-format players required to play in upcoming months.

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed rejecting skipper Babar Azam, pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan’s request for a no-objection certificate (NOC) to feature in the upcoming league Global T20.

“The PCB had received NOC requests from Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen for the Global T20 event. Following consultations with the three players as well as the national selection committee, it has been decided to decline their requests,” the PCB said in a press release on Friday.

The board’s confirmation comes after sources have told Geo News that the trio were unlikely to get the PCB’s nod to participate in the said tournament which is scheduled from July 25 to August 11 in Canada. 

The sources had said that the PCB wasn’t in favour of issuing NOCs to all-format players due to the busy international schedule.

This has now been confirmed by the board which has said that the decision to reject the players’ request for the NOCs has been made in light of the team’s “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”.

The PCB maintains that in line with its 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.

“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 the PCB’s statement.

The development comes days after the cricket body decided not to grant fast-bowler Naseem Shah the NOC to play in The Hundred league due to being an all-format player. 

However, the board has approved NOCs for Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Nawaz as they are “predominantly white-ball cricketers”, while Iftikhar and Nawaz are centrally contracted players.

It is to be noted that PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, earlier this week, had said that it would work out a technical process to issue NOC to the players and those who would fulfil the requirements would be granted the NOC.