Mohammad Hafeez Reveals Reason Behind Haris Rauf Not Getting NOC For BBL 2023-24

Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf was denied being given the NOC (No-Objection Certificate) by the PCB. This was after he denied participating in the upcoming Test series against Australia for the national team.

Chief selector Wahab Riaz was seemingly disappointed at this behavior by the senior pacer who was a part of the Pakistan World Cup 2023 squad.

As a result, the pacer was denied being given the NOC. As per reports in ESPN Cricinfo, PCB is set to delay in giving him the clearance till at least December 11, four days after the start of the league. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s tour of Australia starts with the first Test from December 14.

Also Read: Mohammad Hafeez Reveals Conversations With Mohammad Amir, Imad Wasim On Return To International Cricket

Hafeez while addressing the pre-departure press conference to Australia spoke in detail about why Rauf was denied the NOC. He said that the priority for every centrally contracted player in the Pakistan national team should be about representing the national team. He further spoke about developing a particular NOC the details of which will be communicated later.

Priority Of Centrally Contracted Players Should Be To Play For Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez

“The priority for any centrally or domestically contracted players should be representing Pakistan. We are looking to develop a set NOC policy and that will be communicated clearly, as soon as the policy is developed. The players who are awarded the central contract are expected to be available for Pakistan’s schedule which is released when the FTP is made public.

“We need to base our policies on what Pakistan cricket needs and workload and fatigue management is a big part of that. We need our centrally contracted players to be available and at their best for Pakistan, but they are free to avail any chances that do not hinder their performance for Pakistan” said Hafeez in the presser.

He further said that the players should be invested in playing red-ball cricket for Pakistan and that playing domestic cricket should be the players’ priority over playing in cash-rich leagues.

“Representing Pakistan and red-ball domestic cricket should be our priority and we may have to take some steps to make sure that this attitude is promoted and prioritised as such. We want to bring back our players to longer formats as that is where we are lagging right now. The central contracts will remain as they are and they will continue for the complete cycle” Mohammad Hafeez added further.

He concluded by highlighting the importance of the NOC for every player and the purpose it would serve in the career of every player.

“The NOC policy will be implemented to ensure that Pakistan cricket is prioritised over league cricket. It does not mean that league cricket will be disallowed. As far as Haris Rauf is concerned, he ensured his availability but later changed his mind. He was cleared by the medical panel and the physiotherapist. He has made himself unavailable for red-ball cricket although his central contract demands his availability in all formats. Moving forward, contracts will be awarded keeping in mind availability in all formats but that does not mean that players will be forced to play what they do not want” he concluded saying.

Also Read: PCB Set To Delay Giving NOC To Haris Rauf For BBL 2023-24 Season: Reports