BBL 2023-24: Melbourne Renegades Remove Mujeeb Ur Rahman From Squad After His NOC Dispute With ACB

Afghanistan off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been left out by the Big Bash League franchise Melbourne Renegades for the next match in the middle of the BBL 2023-24. Mujeeb has been sanctioned by the Afghanistan Cricket Board along with his teammates Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi due to the desire to be left out of Afghanistan’s central contract list for the year 2024.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman will not be able to play the next Big Bash League match against Melbourne Stars. Mujeeb has been left out by Melbourne Renegades due to the issues with the ‘No Objection’ certificate. This was due to the sanctions put by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, which mentions that Mujeeb will not be able to play any type of cricketing league for the next two years.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman Left Out Of Melbourne Renegades’ Next BBL Game

Melbourne Renegades had said in a statement earlier, “The Melbourne Renegades are aware of the matter between Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the Afghanistan Cricket Board. The club has received no communication that Mujeeb’s availability for the BBL could change from original plans. Mujeeb remains available for the Melbourne Renegades’ important match against Perth Scorchers at Optus Stadium. Mujeeb is a world class player and a popular member of the squad, and the club will continue to support him for the rest of the BBL season.”

However, in a new statement they stated: “Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been removed from the squad after a change to his NOC conditions made him unavailable for the match.”

Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi were approached by the Afghanistan Cricket Board and later they urged a desire to play international cricket. Both the cricketers were included in Afghanistan’s 18-member squad against the United Arab Emirates whereas Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been left out of the team.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the hero of Melbourne Renegades’ only win in the BBL 2023-24 and ended the match against Adelaide Strikers with figures of 3/20. Renegades might miss the presence of Rahman for the rest of the season.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman last played for Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup and picked up 8 wickets from nine matches at an average of 57.25. Rahman has played a vital role in some epic wins registered by Afghanistan in international cricket and the batsmen have not been able to pick up his off-spin.

Afghanistan are currently playing against the United Arab Emirates in a three-match T20I series. Afghanistan were able to win the first match convincingly and won the match by 72 runs. It was Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, who starred in the match. Afghanistan put up a score of 203/3 while batting first.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz slammed a hundred and played an innings of 100 runs from 52 balls. His innings consisted of seven fours and seven sixes. Ibrahim Zadran scored a half-century and played a knock of 59 runs.

Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq picked up 2 and 1 wickets respectively as UAE were only able to score 131/4 and they ended up losing the match by 72 runs.

However, UAE came back strong and won the second match by 12 runs as the Afghani team was not able to chase down 167 runs.

The third match of the T20I series will be played on January 2, 2024, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.