The Global T20 League Canada franchise Vancouver Knights named the replacements for Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan after they were denied the no objection certificates (NOCs) by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to participate in the league.
Babar, Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi had requested the PCB to play the league but the PCB made the decision to give them rest as the Green Shirts have to play a lot of cricket before the commencement of Champions Trophy 2025, which will be hosted in the country.
Pakistan's schedule till May 2025 is jam-packed due to which the PCB denied the NOCs to players. The main priority for the Mohsin Naqvi-led board is the players' fitness and making sure they remain injury-free and are well-rested.
However, the Knights named Australia’s Usman Khawaja as Rizwan’s and South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks as Azam’s replacement. Mohammad Amir is now the only Pakistani player left in the squad and he featured in their opening against Toronto Nationals.
Earlier, the PCB also decided against granting fast bowler Naseem Shah an NOC for The Hundred cricket league. This will deprive Naseem of around Rs45 million as he was signed by the Birmingham Phoenix team for £125,000.
It is worth mentioning that the PCB's policy is to allow players to play two franchise cricket leagues alongside the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Pakistan’s schedule for remainder of 2024
August: Two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home as part of World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25
October: Three-match Test series against England at home as part of World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25
November 4-18: Travel to Australia to play three ODIs and three T20s
November 20-December 5: Travel to Zimbabwe to play three ODIs and three T20s
December 10-January 03, 2025: Travel to South Africa to play Three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests
