Things are not going in the right direction for Pakistan’s national cricket team. According to reports from ESPNCricinfo, it is learnt that some of the team’s senior players are on the verge of taking on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

This comes after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) did not grant top-order fast bowler Naseem Shah a non-competition certificate to play in the Hundred. He was set to earn £125,000 and this comes as a huge blow to the bowler, especially with a lot of money on the line.

However, this is not limited to this case as it has been learnt that the governing body is willing to refuse the signing of players from all formats for the upcoming franchise tournaments. They do not want their players to get injured in the leagues which could harm the Pakistan side.

In the case of the Canada Global T20 League, the PCB is likely to restrict the participation of players due to workload. Players like Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, who are part of the leagues, are unlikely to take part.

While major tournaments are unlikely to coincide with Pakistan’s international cricket, the PCB wants its players across all formats to stay fully fit and well rested ahead of the team’s two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which begins on August 21.

Pakistan have a busy few months ahead. They play three Test matches against England at home in October. They then visit Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, then host the West Indies and play a three-match home series between South Africa and New Zealand. The Champions Trophy and PSL will follow.

Apart from the players who play across formats, few players are likely to get an NOC certificate to play in the league. However, some of the players like Usama Mir, who was denied his NOC certificate last month for the T20 Blast, along with Haris Rauf, will be able to play in The Hundred as they are not all-format players.

Since the Pakistan Cricket Board is not issuing NOC certificates to some of the big names, there are bound to be differences between the players and the board. This strictness from the PCB comes after the team’s debacle in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

The PCB may reject NOCs from players as per its policy

Under the three-year central contracts that the PCB and players signed last year, cricketers can be allowed to play two foreign leagues per year. But if they conflict with international allocation, the governing body can reject the NOCs.

The PCB also has the right to reject NOCs if it feels that doing so is in the interest of fulfilling Pakistan’s international obligations. However, withdrawing players from leagues if there are no international assignments is likely to cause some discomfort among players as they might feel that the board is respecting the spirit of the contract.