Pakistan Cricket Board Denies Naseem Shah NOC for The Hundred

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided not to grant pacer Naseem Shah the No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play in The Hundred. This decision was made to manage his workload and prevent injuries. Naseem, who plays in all three formats for Pakistan, had shoulder surgery in October 2023 and was advised to rest and undergo rehabilitation.

Due to his surgery, Naseem missed the ICC World Cup 2023, where Pakistan was eliminated in the group stage. He was out of action for three to four months. Pakistan is set to play important World Test Championship matches soon, including a two-match Test series against Bangladesh starting on August 21.

Pakistan’s red-ball head coach Jason Gillispie mentioned that star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi might miss the Test series against Bangladesh due to the birth of his first child. Shaheen and his wife Ansha, who married last year, are expecting their first child. Gillispie said, “Shaheen can miss Bangladesh Test matches due to childbirth. We can give him [some] rest if he wants to stay with his wife till then.”

In addition to red-ball cricket, Pakistan will return to limited-over cricket in November against Australia.