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The crammed cricketing calendar following the emergence of franchise cricket has been the defining point in the sport in recent times. With almost every nation coming up with its version of a franchise-based T20 league and the lucrative amount of money that it brings with it, the concept has stood up to international cricket, which reigned supreme and uncontested since its inception.
Devising a separate window solely for franchise cricket without clashing with international matches is simply not feasible, considering the number of leagues that have popped up around the world.
Furthermore, even taking the fixture overlap out of the auction, there are several other factors to be considered, which often stem from national cricketing boards hesitating to sanction a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for their contracted players to play in overseas leagues.
In recent times, players have often prioritized franchise cricket instead of international cricket due to the more reasonable workload as well as the windfall that the leagues bring with them. International cricket in general has been pretty helpless amid the rise of franchise cricket, but individual boards still wield some sort of power in the form of the valuable NOC document.
On that note, let us take a look at three times a cricket board denied NOCs to players for T20 leagues.
#1 Afghanistan
Afghanistan have been one of the biggest exports of talent to overseas franchise T20 leagues. So far, it had not hindered their national team proceedings. However, with the nation's rising stature in world cricket, evident by their recent run in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the subsequent automatic qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy, things were bound to be complicated.
The trio of Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, potentially the players with the most exposure to multiple franchise leagues, will not be given NOC for the next couple of years by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).
It was arguably a radical move by the cricket board after the aforementioned trio expressed reservation over signing their annual contract with Afghanistan
"The insistence on not signing the central contract for these players was their involvement in commercial leagues, prioritizing their personal interests over playing for Afghanistan, which is regarded as a national responsibility. By opting for their own release, the ACB has decided to take disciplinary measures against these players," the ACB said in a statement
Furthermore, the NOCs that the players had availed for the upcoming set of franchise T20 leagues have also been revoked.
The trio were in line to partake in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well, with Farooqi and Naveen being retained by their respective franchises, while Mujeeb being roped in during the 2024 mini-auction.
#2 Pakistan
The Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) tryst with NOCs has been a complicated one for years. While the board encourages its players to partake in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the same is not the case when they express an interest in playing in more lucrative overseas leagues.
Recently, Haris Rauf's NOC for the Big Bash League (BBL) was delayed after he made himself unavailable for the national team's tour of Australia. Furthermore, Imad Wasim also retired from international cricket to avoid the hassle of NOCs and play overseas leagues without any hindrance.
In the past, the PCB has hesitated in issuing NOCs to players for their participation in overseas leagues on multiple occasions.
The board's decision to revoke NOCs for the T10 league in 2019 almost led to a players' strike, while Mohammad Hasnain and Azam Khan were also denied an NOC to partake in the 2022 Lanka Premier League (LPL) and the 2022 Caribbean Premier League (CPL), respectively.
#3 West Indies
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) did not grant Jason Holder a NOC for the 2016 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The board wanted the all-rounder to partake in the domestic competitions instead as Barbados' captain.
"It's true Holder won't be playing PSL for Gladiators as his NOC has been rejected. We had been in contact with him for last several months and he wanted to be part of PSL. We understand that WICB want to strengthen their Test team and which is why his NOC have been rejected. In the meantime, Gladiators have an option to sign his replacement," a PSL official confirmed to The Express Tribune.
"Thanks @TeamQuetta for the opportunity. I was not granted an NOC by @westindies and won't be able to join. Best wishes #maybeoneday," Jason Holder had tweeted back then
Other nations have also denied NOC to their players for overseas competitions. Bangladesh did not grant an NOC to Taskin Ahmed to participate in county cricket for Yorkshire in 2023.
Can franchise and international cricket co-exist in the grand scheme of things? Let us know what you think.
