ANI
Lahore
The Pakistan Cricket Board has denied No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to Shaheen Shah Afridi, skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for the Global T20 Canada.
The board released an official statement to confirm that the decision was taken after consulting Babar, Shaheen, Rizwan, and the national selection committee.
The decision not to grant NOC to the star trio comes a week after Naseem Shah was denied the certificate to participate in the Hundred. The young pacer was signed by the Birmingham Phoenix.
The PCB stated that Pakistan’s busy international schedule was taken into consideration while making the decision.
"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,” PCB said in a statement.
With the trio featuring in all formats for Pakistan, they will be a key part of the team as they gear up to play nine Tests, 14 ODIs and nine T20Is in the next eight months.