Currently, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could bring some radical changes to the list of remunerations for Pakistan cricketers. These could have considerable ramifications for NOCs, domestic cricket, and other changes to the central contracts that were discussed and agreed upon last year.
It is still not very clear what specific changes to the law are being proposed. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) put out a 500-word statement—most of which was vague and none of which was as good as Andar and Dunya as far as detail was concerned—which was not released through formal press channels, nor was it on the PCB website.
The statement earlier in the orientation said that participation in domestic cricket is now mandatory for players. In addition, there will be a ‘technical method’ for the issuance of the NOCs, and only those firms that satisfy the parameters of this technique will be issued the NOCs. Also, it appears that the term given for the central contracts has been trimmed down to one year.
PCB Contemplates Overhauling Cricketers
Nevertheless, the statement did not contain precise information regarding these new measures or how they would be introduced. Mohammad Rafiullah, the official of PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, said that the committees would soon be set up to decide the concerning aspects.
These committees would be involved in making the technical modality for NOCs, amending the central contract terms, and quantifying the levels of first-class domestic cricket in Pakistan to be played by international players.
Formation of Committees
The provided original statement does not also contemplate the formation of any committee, thus creating more questions than answers about the process. There is uncertainty about whether there will be only one committee or whether each of the tasks described above will involve a different committee. Rafiullah said the committees, which are yet to be formed, will present their notes within 15 days.
Of them, one that needs interpretation is that the remuneration of centrally contracted players will not be reduced. This was after there were rumors that there could be a reduction in player allowances after Pakistan’s poor performance in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
The statement also mentioned that the inclusion of players in various categories of the central contract would follow a defined procedure, though details on this procedure remain unspecified. In an additional move, Test head coach Jason Gillespie and Pakistan’s white-ball Head coach Gary Kirsten have been added to the selection committee of Pakistan. However, it remains unclear whether both coaches will be involved in selectorial decisions across all formats or only within their respective formats.
The NOC Controversy
The issue of player NOCs is a particularly contentious one in Pakistan cricket at the moment. Some players feel that the spirit of the agreement allowing them to participate in two overseas leagues per year is not being honored. Recently, ESPNcricinfo reported that Naseem Shah was denied an NOC to play in The Hundred, where he had a contract worth GBP 125,000.
Similarly, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, and Babar Azam are expected to have their NOCs for the Global T20 League in Canada turned down. The PCB is likely to cite workload management as the reason for these refusals, even though there is no international cricket scheduled to clash with these leagues. Now, only time will tell how the situations and conditions surrounding Pakistan cricket unfold.
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