Pakistan’s cricketers face missing the Abu Dhabi T10. The Pakistan Cricket Board asked the league to pay $10,000 for each No-Objection Certificate. That demand came days before the tournament begins on November 7 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
The September 30 draft included sixteen Pakistan players. Franchises must choose between paying extra or finding replacements because of the late fee demand. The tournament is days away.
What the reports say
Cricinfo reported the PCB blocked the NOCs unless the league paid $10,000 per certificate. At the start of this week, the board communicated the demand. The league applied for clearances soon after the draft.
Franchises are now scrambling, according to the report. Some players planned to pay the fee from their own salaries if team owners refused to cover it.
ProPakistani reported the league told players they could take part if they covered the fee from their contracts. The league warned it could replace those unable to pay.
Cricinfo said the PCB has not responded to queries about the demand.
The drafted players, by team, are:
| Team | Players |
|---|---|
| Arabian Aces | Salman Irshad |
| Emirates Eagles | Akif Javed, Hasan Nawaz, Ali Raza |
| Royal Desert Champions | Naseem Shah |
| UAE Bulls | Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Khawaja Nafay, Khushdil Shah, Azam Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jr |
| United Tigers | Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Sufyan Moqeem, Abbas Afridi |
Earlier dispute and NOC policy
Last month brought a similar dispute over the Nepal Premier League, where the PCB sought $25,000 per player. By contrast, Hussain Talat and Jahandad Khan stayed on. Most others returned without playing, according to Cricinfo.
The board has overhauled its NOC policy in new central contracts. Those contracts also remove the cap on T20 and T10 tournaments for Track C specialists. The board has not announced those contracts yet. Meanwhile, the 2025-26 deals lapsed on June 30.
Pakistan players already face shrinking overseas chances. None play in the IPL. In the SA20, none have appeared so far. IPL franchisees own all SA20 teams, Cricinfo noted.
The $10,000 demand stands, and the tournament starts November 7. Whether franchises or players will pay it remains unclear. How many of the 16 will take the field when the tournament opens in Abu Dhabi remains unclear.
