Pakistan Players’ Participation in Nepal Premier League in Doubt

The participation of Pakistan players at the Nepal Premier League has been thrown into uncertainty over a lack of no-objection certificates.

The NPL involves eight teams and runs from October 26 to November 21 this year. Several Pakistan players who are scheduled to participate in the tournament are already in Kathmandu, where the games are scheduled to take place. Others who were about to travel are understood to have delayed their plans until the issue is resolved. Whether the fee has become the sticking point or been demanded is still unclear.

Pakistan's T20 captain Sahibzada Farhan, Haider Ali, Hunain Shah, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, and Usama Mir are among the players competing in the NPL. There are no players in any Pakistan squad that matches the NPL dates.

The PCB announced a new central contract structure earlier this year that made a clear distinction between red-ball and white-ball cricket. It contained what was known as format track D, and players in that group were referred to as T20 specialists. The idea was that these players could play in as many T20 leagues as they wanted, as long as their schedules didn't conflict with any international duty the PCB required of them.

None of the players participating in the NPL this year are currently included in Pakistan's plans for ODI or Test matches, even though the PCB has not publicly stated which track any Pakistan player falls into or whether the new structure has even been implemented.