Shahid Afridi's stint with Hampshire has been thrown into doubt following his suspension and the revoking of his no-objection certificate and by the Pakistan board. The ECB is investigating the issue and Hampshire have said it is unlikely Afridi will be able to play for them.

"We have received notice of the revoking of Afridi's NOC," an ECB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo, "and now we are checking to see if the correct procedures have been followed."

Afridi had been signed by Hampshire as one of their two overseas players and was due to turn out for them on the opening day of the Twenty20 season later on Wednesday.

Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, confirmed the news to ESPNcricinfo. "My understanding of the process is that Shahid retired two or three days ago, the following day the PCB announced they would withdraw his no-objection certificate, and from what I can gather today the ECB have removed his registration, which makes him unavailable to play.

"We're still discussing with various parties whether he's a retired player, a contracted player, but at the moment it looks as though he won't be playing. If he's not registered, he can't play, so it's an ECB issue at present."