A reported $25,000 PCB No Objection Certificate fee has deterred Major League Cricket franchises from signing Pakistani players, leaving Haris Rauf as the league’s sole representative.
IMAGE: Haris Rauf, signed by San Francisco Unicorns, will be the only Pakistani player featuring in this year’s Major League Cricket. Photograph: ANI Photo
Key Points
Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf is the only Pakistani player featuring in this year’s Major League Cricket after the PCB introduced a reported $25,000 No Objection Certificate fee for franchises.
According to an MLC franchise source, the additional fee has discouraged teams from signing Pakistani players as it significantly increases squad acquisition costs despite the league’s previous reliance on Pakistan talent.
While the PCB has not officially confirmed the policy, chairman Mohsin Naqvi has reportedly defended the fee as a legitimate revenue source, with uncertainty remaining over the board’s NOC rules for T20 leagues.
A recent policy decision by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to demand a $25,000 fee for players’ No Objection Certificates (NOCs) left Haris Rauf — signed by the San Francisco Unicorns — as the country’s sole representative in the USA’s Major League Cricket (MLC) this year.
In the past, number of Pakistani players had been signed up by MLC franchises.
A MLC franchise source has revealed how the PCB has implemented a new policy of taking a $25,000 fee from MLC franchises for granting NOC to their players for the league.
While the PCB has neither confirmed nor denied the new policy, chairman Mohsin Naqvi reportedly told a franchise that charging the fee is the board’s right and a source of revenue.
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Franchises Reluctant as Costs Climb
The team source said that because of the new policy franchises were reluctant to sign on Pakistani players in the MLC as it meant increasing their budget.
Pakistani players have to routinely seek NOCs from their board to go and take part in foreign leagues and more recently fast bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, was given a NOC to appear in the Lanka Premier League after being dropped for the Test tours to the West Indies and England.
Though the PCB says its policy allows a contracted player to appear in two leagues a year, clarity is still missing regarding T20 leagues.