PCB 'not comfortable' to hand NOCs to Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir and others after World Cup debacle

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Some of Pakistan's top players including captain Babar Azam have been denied NOC by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after their dismal outing in the T20 World Cup.

Following a terrible performance in the World Cup, the Pakistan players are back home and some have already ventured out for franchise leagues.

Shadab Khan has been playing in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), while a few others have been handed NOC to play in the other leagues. However, reports emerged from Pakistan that some of their star players have been denied the NOC.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam, pacer Shaheen Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan are among the names who are supposed to take part in the upcoming GT20 League in Canada, but haven't been given the green signal by PCB. Mohammad Amir was allowed a NOC for county cricket but not for the GT20.

As per the latest reports, PCB is not fully sure about the tournament in Canada and wants to be informed a bit more about that. That is the reason why they still hold the NOC of the trio.

"The PCB is not comfortable with the status of the Global League and has sought some information from the organisers and ICC, which is why the issuance of NOCs has been delayed," a PCB official said to PTI.

It is to be seen if the issue clears in the upcoming days as the tournament in Canada will be marred if the Pakistani players are not allowed to participate. The workload of Pakistani players can also be an issue if they take part in the GT20 Canada league.

The GT20 starts from July 25 and will continue till August 11. On the other hand, Pakistan's upcoming Test series against Bangladesh commences from August 19.

There have been several debates regarding T20 cricket, but Pakistan are abysmal in the World Test Championship as well. They finished 5th in the inaugural cycle in 2019-21, which slumped further down to 7th in the 2021-23 cycle. Babar Azam and co. are currently 5th in the ongoing cycle but a good Test series against Bangladesh can be a major boost for them.