CAN: PCB Silent as Pakistan Players' NPL Future in Doubt

The Cricket Association of Nepal says uncertainty still hangs over the Pakistan players signed for Nepal Premier League Season 3, after its president said the Pakistan Cricket Board has not responded at all on their no-objection certificates.

CAN President's October 27 Statement

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has said that uncertainty persists over the participation of Pakistani players in the Nepal Premier League (NPL) because the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not issued no-objection certificates (NOCs). CAN president Chatur Bahadur Chand gave the update to OnlineKhabar on October 27, a day after the third season opened at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.

Chand said the NOCs for the Pakistani players have not arrived so far, and that the PCB has not responded at all on the issue. “If someone does not give an NOC, we cannot force them to play,” he said. “The NOCs have not arrived so far.” CAN is not claiming the players are banned or the matter closed — only that the paperwork that would let them play has not come.

Chand also criticised the PCB's handling of the issue, saying the board has taken a step that undermines leagues with franchise potential. “This sets a wrong precedent,” he said. “It is a game that weakens leagues with franchise potential.” The comments are CAN's strongest public statement since the dispute surfaced, made while the tournament was under way and affected squads still did not know which signings would be cleared.

The Reported $25,000 Fee Claim

OnlineKhabar reported that the PCB had demanded an additional US$25,000 to issue NOCs for the Pakistani players who had come to Nepal for the NPL. Other outlets reported the same figure, with sources telling ESPNcricinfo it was understood to be in the region of US$25,000. But the PCB has not publicly confirmed any fee and has issued no official response on the NOC matter.

Republica noted on October 26 that neither the fee nor its link to the delays had been independently confirmed, and that some players had reportedly received clearance before the process was halted. Other reporting said the PCB told players their permission had been suspended despite earlier clearances. The two accounts do not sit neatly together, and neither board has published anything settling which version covers which player.

The Players and Franchises Affected

Three franchises signed Pakistani players for Season 3, according to OnlineKhabar: the Karnali Yaks, the Janakpur Bolts and the Chitwan Rhinos. The Karnali picture is the clearest. Sahibzada Farhan, who was signed by Karnali, has already returned home, and another Karnali signing, Hussain Talat, is also unsure whether he will play. Farhan's absence was already expected for Karnali's opening matches, as covered in our earlier report on his return to Pakistan, but the wider NOC question now leaves Talat's status open as well.

Janakpur's Pakistani signings, named by OnlineKhabar, are Iftikhar Ahmed and Hunain Shah. Chitwan's are Usama Mir, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Nawaz. Other reports also named Haider Ali among the league's Pakistan signings, without attributing him to a franchise, so he is noted here without a team attached. Seven or more Pakistani players across three squads are affected — this is not a one-team problem.

The Four-Overseas-Player Quota Problem

With the signed Pakistani players' participation uncertain, OnlineKhabar reported that the franchises are struggling to fill their quota of four foreign players. An NPL squad is built around its overseas picks — top-order batting, death bowling, or both — and losing one or two changes how a captain can balance the side, not just a name on a teamsheet.

The pressure is most visible in the October 27 evening fixture, when Karnali meet Janakpur — two of the three affected franchises. The result will still count in full on the points table, and the live scores will show whatever XI each side actually fields, which is why supporters have watched team announcements for these matches closely. Fans following the NPL schedule will see two teams that planned around Pakistani signings taking the field while those signings remain in doubt.

Replacements are not a simple fix: any new overseas signing also needs clearance, travel and time to settle, and the available pool shrinks once a season is under way. That is why franchises have waited rather than rebuilt — the players they want are already signed, and only a document stands between them and the field.

What Happens Next

The next step belongs to the PCB: issue the NOCs and the three franchises can field their planned squads; withhold them and the sides play on with the cleared overseas players they have. CAN has made its position clear — it cannot force a player to play without an NOC, nor intervene directly in another board's decision.

CAN secretary Paras Khadka had earlier expressed confidence the players would arrive with NOCs, while making clear none could compete without clearance. That confidence has not been borne out, and Chand's October 27 statement reads as a more frustrated update. Republica also reported Chand had been unable to speak directly with PCB president Mohsin Naqvi and was trying to reach PCB chief executive Salman Naseer without success.

For now the story remains where the October 25 report on the NOC doubt left it — unresolved — except the uncertainty now has a named voice, a date and a direct quote. Players, franchises and supporters are waiting on the same thing: a response CAN says has not come.