Lahore, August 21 (TNS): Taking a U-turn, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday allowed national level players to carry on Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the English county.
The players were earlier ordered toreturn to their respective local franchises, a few days after first revoking the No-Objection Certificates.
Before returning to the CPL and county cricket, the players will have to undergo fitness tests from August 22 to 24.
The path to the players’ return was cleared after the Pakistan board chairman Najam Sethi announced that the National T20 Cup, which had compelled the PCB to revoke the players’ NOCs, had been rescheduled for November, following official confirmation of the World XI series in Lahore.
The decision to revoke the NOCs of 13 players participating in the CPL and the English domestic circuit had taken many by surprise, with the affected counties reportedly frustrated at the players’ recalls.
Senior members of the Pakistan team management, too, were unhappy, with one telling ESPNCricinfo, “It’s a bit of a mess.
The PCB have brought this T20 competition in from nowhere. It’s not ideal, but it is what it is.”
The same notices went out to Mohammad Amir, who was to stay with Essex until September, Sarfraz Ahmed, who was to play five games for Yorkshire in the Natwest T20 Blast, and Fakhar Zaman, who was set to join Somerset until the end of the season.
Courtesy: ESPN-cricinfo
