The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has granted limited NOCs to several Pakistani cricketers, allowing them to participate in specific matches of Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL-13).
Haris Rauf, Usama Mir, and Zaman Khan have received permission, considering the workload and future tours programme of the national men’s team. The NOCs are issued for a specified number of matches to balance game time with workload management.
Rauf (Melbourne Stars) is permitted for five matches, while Mir (Melbourne Stars) and Zaman Khan (Sydney Thunders) have NOCs for five and four matches, respectively. These permissions are allocated within a specific timeframe to balance participation and national commitments.
National cricketers are cleared to play in Australia’s premier tournament between December 7-28. Melbourne Stars, awaiting clearance for Rauf, had summoned England’s Olly Stone as a replacement. Recently-retired Pakistan star Imad Wasim has also joined Melbourne Stars as a replacement for England’s Liam Dawson.
Stars’ General Manager Blair Crouch stated, “With Liam available for the first three matches, we identified Wasim as a player who could come in and perform a role for us with his left-arm spin and lengthen our batting lineup.”
The Melbourne Stars squad for BBL 13 includes Scott Boland, Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Brody Couch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Liam Dawson (England), Sam Harper, Campbell Kellaway, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Usama Mir (Pakistan), Joel Paris, Haris Rauf (Pakistan), Tom Rogers, Mark Steketee, Marcus Stoinis, Imad Wasim (Pakistan), and Beau Webster.
The BBL is scheduled to run from December 7, 2023, to January 24 next year.
