PCB suspends NOCs of players for foreign leagues

LAHORE: The NOCs of national players to play in foreign leagues have been suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

PCB Chief Operating Officer Sameer Ahmed issued an official notification. The decision to suspend the NOCs was taken after the defeat in the Asia Cup final to India.

Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, and Faheem Ashraf will be affected by the decision.

The PCB had issued NOCs to these players to participate in Australia’s Big Bash League. The Big Bash League will start from December 14 and will continue till January 25.

Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the national squad for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa.

Shan Masood has been retained as captain, while opener Imam-ul-Haq has been reinstated in the team.

On the other hand, young batter Saim Ayub has been dropped, but the strength of Pakistani spinners has seen a significant increase.

Along with Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, Abrar Ahmed, left-arm spinner Faisal Akram, and ‘mystery spinner’ Asif Afridi have also been included in the squad.

It is being estimated that the spin attack will play a key role in the home series against South Africa.

Important changes have been made in the fast bowling department, with young star fast bowler Naseem Shah being dropped from the Test squad, while experienced Mir Hamza has also been left out.