ICC Champions Trophy 2025: England Cricket Board bans it's players from playing in Pakistan

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has banned the England players from appearing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2025) as well as other leagues that clash with the domestic season.

However, the board has once again made an exception for the IPL. The decision from the ECB could force the players to turn their back on red-ball cricket to play overseas.

ECB wants English cricketers to prioritise national team

In recent years, several players have prioritised T20 leagues over the national team due to the earning potential and England cricket could also find itself in a similar situation in the coming days.

However, the ECB believes that banning the players from participating in overseas leagues will safeguard the quality of the domestic game, according to The Telegraph.

Earlier, reports stated that the ECB was planning to give No Objection Certificates for leagues that clash with the English summer to only those players who had a white-ball-only contract. However, the board will now stop giving the players the NOCs to participate in any competitions that overlap with the T20 Blast and the Hundred.

The England players will also be barred from participating in leagues suspected of corruption. Not only that, they will also be stopped 'double-dipping' – switching to a new tournament once eliminated from another competition taking place at the same time.

ECB to ban England players:

The decision to ban the players from participating in overseas T20 leagues was ratified by the ECB board at a meeting on Wednesday.

The new policy is bound to leave the players in an awkward position. They will have to pick one between maximizing earnings and is available for all the formats.

Recently, Saqib Mahmood accepted only a white-ball contract from Lancashire for next season to remain available for the PSL.

For the upcoming English summer season, the T20 Blast and Hundred will clash with the Major League Cricket, Canada’s Global T20 League, and Sri Lanka’s Premier League.

PSL to directly clash with IPL 2025

The PSL will also clash with the season as it will be taking place in April next year. And like every year, the IPL will clash with the start of the English summer.

To make sure that the players remain for the domestic competitions, the ECB has now decided to ban them from participating in overseas competitions although they will be allowed to play in the IPL.

"We need to protect the integrity of our sport and the strength of our competitions in England and Wales as well," said Richard Gould, ECB chief executive.

"This policy gives clarity to players and professional counties around our approach to issuing No Objection Certificates.

"It will enable us to strike the right balance between supporting players who want to take up opportunities to earn and gain experience, while also protecting the integrity of cricket globally, ensuring we don’t undermine our own ECB competitions, and managing the welfare of centrally contracted England players," added Gould.