Just days after granting all-rounder Yusuf Pathan a No Objection Certificate to play a Twenty20 Tournament in Hong Kong, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has done a U-turn, Indian Express Reported.
According to the report, BCCI sources said that Pathan had received an NOC from the BCCI office to play for the Hong Kong T20 Blitz team Kowloon Cantons. However, following the decision, two other players also approached the Board for permission to play in other T20 leagues. Fearing more such requests, the Indian board’s decision makers are said to have done a rethink and reversed the decision.
The BCCI have so far refused to grant an NOC to their players for any franchise-based league, in direct competition to the Indian Premier League. BCCI’s game development manager MV Sridhar had justified granting Yusuf permission as he felt the Hong Kong event was a “tournament” and not a “league”.
“League would mean franchises, league would mean auctions, league would mean players being requested and paid according to their capabilities, there’s a lot of difference,” Sridhar was quoted as saying.
Former India wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik had also shown interest in playing in the Caribbean Premier League, but was turned down, the report added.