PCB denies NOC to Naseem Shah to feature in The Hundred

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided not to grant pacer Naseem Shah the No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play in The Hundred under workload management, sources told Geo News. The sources informed Geo News that after reviewing the application submitted by the Pakistan cricketer, the decision to deny the NOC has been taken as a preventive measure.

The sources stated that Naseem's application has been dismissed to safeguard him from injuries since the youngster features in all three formats for Pakistan and suffered injuries and fitness challenges last year. Naseem underwent surgery in October 2023 to treat his shoulder injury. Due to the surgery, he was ruled out of the ICC World Cup 2023, which saw Pakistan crash out in the group stage. After his surgery, doctors advised him to rest and undergo rehabilitation for a period of four to six weeks before making his return to the field. This injury kept him out of action for at least three to four months.

Pakistan are set to play crucial World Test Championship matches in the coming months. They will engage in a two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which will kick off on August 21. Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillispie has already hinted at the possible unavailability of star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi for the series. Shaheen and his wife Ansha, who got married last year, are expecting the birth of their first child.

Due to this, he could miss the Test series against Bangladesh next month. "Shaheen can miss Bangaladesh Test matches due to childbirth. We can give him [some] rest if he wants to stay with his wife till then," said Pakistan's red-ball coach Jason Gillispie as quoted from Geo News. Apart from red-ball cricket, Pakistan will return to limited-over cricket in November against Australia.