Pakistan Players Granted NOCs for Abu Dhabi T10 After Lump-Sum Agreement

NOCs Granted: The PCB reached an agreement with the Abu Dhabi T10 (ADT10) league, ensuring that Pakistan players received their No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to participate in the tournament starting this weekend.

Lump Sum Payment: Rather than the PCB's initial demand of USD 10,000 per player for the 16 drafted players, the two parties agreed on a lump sum payment.

With opportunities for the Pakistan players in overseas leagues already thin because of the strained geopolitical relationship between Pakistan and India, they complain that such erratic behaviour from the PCB will further dry up their opportunities as the teams and leagues will start preferring players from other countries to avoid excessive cost and inconvenience.

Additional Perks: As part of the deal, the PCB also secured access to cricket and training facilities at the Abu Dhabi Cricket and Sports Hub for the coming year.

Background & Policy Concerns

Last-Minute Delay: The agreement was finalized just two days before the tournament opener, after NOCs had been held up due to the PCB's fee demands.

Recent Precedents: This followed a similar incident in October, when the PCB blocked players from the Nepal Premier League at the eleventh hour over a USD 25,000 per-player fee demand.

Player Concerns: With Pakistan players already facing limited overseas opportunities due to geopolitical factors, players have expressed frustration that these erratic fee demands from the PCB risk drying up league opportunities further as franchises look to other nations to avoid extra costs.