Some star Afghanistan players including Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Naveen-ul-Haq can have difficulty participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has declined to issue them No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for the upcoming two years.
The ACB’s decisions have been made in response to the player’s request to be released from their annual central contracts, a move perceived by the board as prioritizing personal interests over national duty. These players have been actively participating in commercial cricket leagues, which has fueled their desire to be released from central contracts.
The cricket management of Afghanistan said that it was prompted to take “disciplinary action” against the players.
As the 2024 season of the IPL is set to commence in March next year, the prospects of the three Afghan players participating have become uncertain. Mujeeb was acquired by the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 2 crore in the IPL 2024 auction, while Naveen and Fazalhaq were retained by Lucknow Super Giants and SunRisers Hyderabad respectively.
A committee member of the ACB has confirmed that these three players had requested to be released from the central contract to participate in such cricket leagues.
“The three players formally communicated their decision to the ACB, expressing their desire to release themselves from the annual central contract, starting from 1st January 2024, as well as requested to consider their consent for their participation in the national events,” said the committee member.
