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Pakistan players to get NOCs to play in official leagues abroad

Staff Report

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to grant No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to its players to take part in any official leagues abroad including next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). A spokesman for the PCB told Daily Times Tuesday that the board had no objection if any of its players wanted to play in any officially recognised tournaments. “We have no problem if any cricketer wants to play abroad whether in Bangladesh or India. We will give them the required NOC,” added PCB general manager media Nadeem Sarwar.

Pakistan players were absent from the second IPL, held earlier this year in South Africa, after their government did not allow them to travel to India - where the tournament was originally to be held - for security reasons. The decision came in the wake of the Mumbai attacks last year, after which relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated considerably. Eleven players from Pakistan had taken part in the first IPL, though after the Mumbai attacks, only four were retained by their franchises, though their contracts were suspended until further resolution.

Meanwhile all-rounder Abdul Razzak has claimed that the PCB has issued NOCs to him to take part in the IPL few days back and indicated he will be soon signing up for the Kolkata Knight Riders team. “Yes the PCB has given me the NOC for the IPL and hopefully this time I will be able to take part in the league in India,” Razzaq said.

When asked whether the government had also cleared the players to play in India, Razzaq said since the PCB had given clearance there should not be a problem with the government allowing them to play in the IPL. The IPL has set a deadline of November 20 for Pakistan players to send in their NOCs from the PCB and government clearance so that they can be considered for the players’ auction that will be held soon for the next IPL season. Razzaq said he was in talks with the KKR team to represent them in the next IPL season but said once the deal was final the KKR team would make an official announcement themselves. Razzaq was among the first batch of players from Pakistan who signed up for the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) and played in both seasons of the unofficial T20 league with distinction.

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