Mohsin Naqvi Accused Of 'Extortion', Pakistan Players Set To Face Ban From This T20 League: Report
As per a report, the PCB has been accused of extortion for demanding a last-minute, unbudgeted $25,000 (approx. Rs. 24 lakh, approx. PKR 69 lakh) per player from the franchises for the NOC.
- Major League Cricket owners are reportedly planning a shadow ban on signing Pakistan players
- The Mohsin Naqvi-led PCB has been accused of extortion for demanding last-minute fees to issue NOC
- "It's more the extortion the PCB does. Basically, through the year, they won't say anything," the report said
The Major League Cricket (MLC) owners are reportedly planning a shadow ban on signing Pakistan players for the league due to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi's latest demands. According to a report on pakpassion.com, the Naqvi-led PCB had demanded a last-minute, huge sum to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to its players to participate in the league. A player cannot feature in franchise leagues unless their cricket board agrees to issue an NOC, which is an ICC-mandatory document. As per the report, the PCB has been accused of extortion for demanding a last-minute, unbudgeted $25,000 (approx. Rs. 24 lakh, approx. PKR 69 lakh) per player from the franchises for the NOC.
"It's more the extortion the PCB does. Basically, through the year, they won't say anything. And then right towards the start of the tournament, when they have to give their NOCs, they send an email saying that for the NOC, it will be $25,000 for each player," the report said.
The report added that such conditions only apply when the franchises face a crisis of players.
"Around a week before the tournament starts when they know we can't find other players, we've announced the players and cannot replace them, that's when they'll come back and say you have to pay $25,000 per player for an NOC. We'll ask them why they did not tell us this before and they won't respond," it added.
The MLC raised the issue with Naqvi, but the PCB considers it 'their right to ask for this money.'
"We've talked to Mohsin Naqvi as well and said to him that this is extortion. This is not the right way to do it. But we were told by the Board that this is their revenue and their right to ask for this money," the report said.
The report also pointed out that the franchises receive no guarantee despite paying the fee, as the PCB can revoke the NOC at any time and demand another last-minute payment if additional clearance becomes necessary.
"One of the reasons teams at the MLC don't sign Pakistani players is because we don't like the uncertainty around all of this. Every season there is this uncertainty looming regarding paying this money. No other Board asks the MLC teams for these additional payments. The franchises run on budgets and suddenly they are expected to free up a chunk of their budget from somewhere to pay for this. That's never good. The franchises need to plan for the season properly and not have this situation hanging over them."
Pacer Haris Rauf is the only Pakistani player at the MLC this year, having been signed by the San Francisco Unicorns, who agreed to the PCB's demands.
Pakistan Cricket Team