PCB mulls ‘key changes’, says domestic cricket ‘compulsory’ for players

The PCB is considering “several key changes” to the nature of international cricketers’ obligations to Pakistan cricket, with potential implications for the ability to obtain NOCs, participation in domestic cricket and a change to central contracts agreed last year.

What those key changes contain, however, remains shrouded in mystery. A 500-word statement that was light on detail – and not released through official channels or uploaded to the PCB’s official website – stated that domestic cricket “is now compulsory for players”. The board also announced that a “technical method” would be established for issuing NOCs, and only players meeting the criteria of that method would be granted NOCs. It would appear that the tenure of central contracts has been reduced to one year, an apparent rollback of the landmark three-year contracts announced last year.

However, despite the potentially wide-reaching implications of such changes, no specific information was provided on what these changes would entail and how they would come into effect. Mohammad Rafiullah – a spokesperson for the board chairman Mohsin Naqvi – told ESPNcricinfo that committees would be formed to work out the fine print: devising the technical method for the NOCs, the tweaking of the central contract, and how much domestic cricket international players would be required to play.

The original statement made no mention of the establishment of any committee, and it is not yet clear whether one committee will be tasked with all three responsibilities, or three separate committees will be formed to handle one task each. Rafiullah told ESPNcricinfo the committees – which have not come into existence yet – would submit their findings for implementation within 15 days.

The statement did clarify that the centrally contracted players’ remuneration would not be reduced, a punitive move that initial reports suggested was being considered in the wake of Pakistan’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign. It also said “the inclusion of players in various categories of the central contract would follow a defined procedure” without information on how this procedure was to be defined.

It was also announced that Test head coach Jason Gillespie and white-ball coach Gary Kirsten had been added to the selection committee, though once again, it has yet to be clarified whether that means both coaches will make selectorial decisions across formats, or only sit on committees relevant to the formats they are respective coaches for.

The issue concerning player NOCs is perhaps the prickliest one in Pakistan cricket at the moment, with some players understood to feel the spirit of the agreement to allow players two overseas leagues per year was not being respected . Last week, ESPNcricinfo reported Naseem Shah had been refused an NOC to play the Hundred on a contract worth GBP 125,000, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam are also expected to have their NOCs for the Global T20 League in Canada turned down. There is no international cricket that clashes with either of these leagues, but the PCB is likely to cite workload management as a reason for their refusal.

In a separate statement, one that was uploaded to the PCB’s official website, Australian pitch curator Tony Hemming was appointed the head curator on a two-year contract. He comes in ahead of a busy home season for Pakistan, which includes seven Test matches, a tri-series and the ICC Champions Trophy.