The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has denied granting NOCs to Haris Rauf, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan to play two more games in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) 2023-24. Reports in Pakistan cricket suggested that the two players requested to play more matches in the league, but the board was not interested.
PCB wants Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan and Usama Mir to stay fit for the upcoming New Zealand T20Is and hence did not allow them to play more games in BBL. Previously, the governing body allowed some players to participate in 5 games of the tournament.
As per the NOCs granted earlier, all Pakistan players in the BBL are scheduled to remain in Australia until December 28. Apart from the players, the franchises also requested PCB to extend their availability in the tournament until the end of the first week of January.
But PCB also denied his request ahead of the New Zealand tour. Pakistan is scheduled to play a five-match T20I series against New Zealand. The series will begin on January 12 and Haris Rauf, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan are part of the team.
BREAKING 🛑 PCB has been refused to grant NOC extension to Haris Rauf, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan for the next two more games in the BBL league before Pakistan fly to New Zealand for five T-20 matches. The three players will stay in Sydney and wait for the Test series to end. pic.twitter.com/2lD611qr3b
– Ejaz Wasim Bakhri (@ejazwasim) December 27, 2023
Pakistan will be captained by Shaheen Afridi in the T20I series against New Zealand. The fast bowler was recently named team captain in the shortest format of the game. PCB appointed him captain after Babar Azam stepped down as team leader following the ICC World Cup 2023 debacle.
Here is Pakistan’s squad for the T20Is against New Zealand
Shaheen Afridi (c), Aamir Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan.
Haris Rauf recently retired from the Test series against Australia. He cited mental fatigue as his reason for not playing. He will be an important part of the team for the T20I series against New Zealand along with Usama Mir and Zaman Khan.
PAK vs AUS: PCB appointed Yasir Arafat as new high performance coach ahead of New Zealand T20Is
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently appointed former all-rounder Yasir Arafat as the new high performance coach ahead of the New Zealand T20Is. He will soon take charge of the team as he will join the team in Lahore before moving to New Zealand for the series.
Yasir Arafat will replace Simon Helmut in office. His appointment came on the recommendation of national team director Mohammad Hafeez. The team is currently in Australia for the T20I series against Australia. They are not having a great outing there as the hosts make fun of them.
Pakistan suffered a 360-degree thrashing in the first Test against Australia in Perth. They are looking down and dusted in the second game and it won’t be a surprise if they lose the second game of the series. They are yet to win a series in Australia in more than the last two decades. They would hope to turn things around this time, but things look bleak.
