Pakistan’s participation in the upcoming Abu Dhabi T10 League is uncertain after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reportedly withheld No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) for its players unless the tournament pays $10,000 for each cricketer cleared to participate.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the late demand has left franchises with limited time to decide whether to pay the additional fee or recruit replacement players ahead of the tournament’s scheduled start on November 7.
Abu Dhabi T10 management reportedly submitted NOC applications for Pakistani players shortly after the player draft on September 30. However, the PCB communicated its demand for $10,000 per player only at the beginning of this week.
Franchises Explore Replacement Options
A total of 16 Pakistani cricketers were selected by five of the tournament’s six teams.
Some players were reportedly willing to pay the fee from their own salaries if franchise owners refused to cover the additional expense.
Despite attempts to resolve the matter through mediation, teams have started exploring replacement options, ESPNcricinfo reported.
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The PCB also withheld NOCs for Pakistani players selected for last month’s Nepal Premier League, reportedly demanding $25,000 per player. Although Hussain Talat and Jahandad Khan continued playing, most Pakistani cricketers returned without participating.
PCB’s Overseas League NOC Policy
The PCB has periodically sought financial compensation from overseas franchise leagues in exchange for issuing NOCs to Pakistani players. The issue became particularly prominent around the launch of the ILT20.
A PCB official told ESPNcricinfo that the board wanted compensation from leagues where it did not consider reciprocal player availability arrangements sufficiently beneficial.
The board has also revised its NOC policy under its new central contract framework, introducing different overseas league allowances for players across contract categories.
Under the reported policy:
- Track C: T20 specialists can participate in overseas T20 and T10 leagues without a numerical limit, provided they remain available for national duty.
- Track AB: Dual-format specialists can play one overseas league annually.
- Track BC: White-ball specialists can participate in two overseas leagues annually.
- Track A: Red-ball specialists are not permitted to play in overseas T20 or T10 competitions.
However, the PCB has yet to announce its new central contracts, leaving uncertainty over which players fall into each category. The previous contracts expired on June 30, 2026.
Geopolitical Tensions Further Limit Opportunities
Pakistani cricketers already face restrictions in several overseas competitions because of strained relations between Pakistan and India.
They remain excluded from the Indian Premier League (IPL), while teams owned by Indian business groups have largely avoided signing Pakistani players in other competitions.
No Pakistani cricketer has featured in South Africa’s SA20, where all six franchises are owned by IPL team owners.
There have been some exceptions. Abrar Ahmed was signed by Sunrisers Leeds for the men’s Hundred, while Usman Tariq has represented Trinidad Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League and was selected by Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for the ILT20.
The PCB had not responded to ESPNcricinfo’s queries at the time of publication.
Pakistani Players Selected for Abu Dhabi T10
The 16 Pakistani players selected during the draft were:
| Franchise | Pakistani Players |
|---|---|
| Arabian Aces | Salman Irshad |
| Emirates Eagles | Akif Javed, Hasan Nawaz, Ali Raza |
| Royal Desert Champions | Naseem Shah |
| UAE Bulls | Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Khawaja Nafay, Khushdil Shah, Azam Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jr |
| United Tigers | Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Sufyan Moqeem, Abbas Afridi |
The dispute leaves the participation of these players uncertain as franchises race to finalise their squads before the tournament begins.
