Pakistani players are unlikely to take part in the Abu Dhabi T10 after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said it will block No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) unless the league pays $10,000 for each one, Cricinfo has reported.
According to a report, the league applied for the NOCs soon after its player draft on September 30. PCB officials told Cricinfo that the board communicated the fee at the start of this week, days before the tournament begins on November 7.
Five of the six teams picked 16 Pakistan cricketers in the draft. They include Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir and Fakhar Zaman. The late demand has left franchises scrambling to pay the fee or find replacements.
Cricinfo reported that some players plan to pay the fee from their own salaries if team owners refuse. Despite efforts at mediation, teams are now looking at replacement players.
PCB also withheld NOCs last month for the Nepal Premier League and asked for $25,000 per player. Hussain Talat and Jahandad Khan kept playing in that league, but most Pakistan cricketers returned without featuring.
The Board has used a fee for NOCs on and off in recent years. It first raised the issue when the ILT20 launched. The board’s reasoning was to charge for leagues where it felt the player availability arrangement in return was not attractive enough.
