The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has refused leg-spinner Usama Mir’s request for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to participate in the upcoming T20 Blast in England. Mir had a great match with Worcestershire Rapids the previous season, but he won’t be seen playing for them in the T20 extravaganza.
Due to his exclusion from Pakistan’s team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the 28-year-old leggie was anticipated to be eligible to play for the duration of the T20 Blast season.
In addition to the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Mir is one of the 25 players who have agreed to a three-year central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board. According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the PCB has confirmed that its centrally contracted players are only permitted to play in two overseas T20 leagues during a contractual cycle of one year.
Since Mir has already played in two international T20 tournaments, he is not allowed to take part in any more franchise competitions before June 30, 2024. The current contractual cycle runs from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
Born in Sialkot, the player featured in the Big Bash League (2023–24) for Melbourne Stars and also played for Manchester Originals in The Hundred (August 2023).With just five BBL games under his belt, he was called up to the national squad for a five-match Twenty20 International series against New Zealand, so he was optimistic he would be approved by the board to travel to England for the T20 Blast.
The PCB, however, is emphatic that a player’s maximum participation in a year of the contractual cycle is two PSL tournaments and two worldwide franchise competitions.
To replace Mir on a like-for-like basis, the Rapids have signed West Indies leggie Hayden Walsh Jr. A member of the traveling reserve team for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is Hayden, one of five players.
