Shoaib Akhtar to Raise Pakistani Players' NPL Exclusion With PCB

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has promised to raise the exclusion of Pakistani players from the Nepal Premier League with the Pakistan Cricket Board, after seeing the tournament at first hand in Kirtipur.

Akhtar's Kirtipur visit and PCB pledge

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar visited the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur for the first time on Tuesday, arriving while Janakpur Bolts were playing Karnali Yaks in Match 3 of the Nepal Premier League. He toured the stadium premises, greeted supporters, and then spoke with Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) officials, including president Chatur Bahadur Chand and vice-president Roshan Singh.

It was in that conversation that Akhtar made his pledge. Singh quoted him as saying: "I am saddened by this. I do not know the full details yet, but I will certainly raise the issue with the PCB after returning home." Akhtar added that he would also tell the PCB about the enthusiasm for cricket he had witnessed in Nepal and the country's growing infrastructure capacity. During his discussions with the CAN president and other officials, he pledged his support for Nepali cricket.

Singh noted the contrast with Akhtar's television persona, saying the former fast bowler, known for his aggressive demeanour during matches, appeared relaxed during his visit to Kirtipur.

The reported $25,000 NOC condition

The row Akhtar has promised to raise centres on no-objection certificates (NOCs) for Pakistani players. The PCB has reportedly required players seeking permission to play in foreign T20 leagues to pay $25,000 per player, a condition that left the participation of Pakistani players in NPL Season 3 uncertain just as the tournament began. The figure remains a reported condition rather than a publicly confirmed PCB demand.

The uncertainty has already reshaped squads. Pakistan T20 captain Sahibzada Farhan, who had signed for Karnali Yaks and arrived in Nepal with an NOC, was called back for national duty and flew home on Monday before the tournament began. Karnali director Grihendra Ghimire said the franchise expected Farhan to rejoin the side after Pakistan's match on 31 October, and that it was preparing a replacement for the interim.

Other Pakistani players have been caught in the same uncertainty. Hussain Talat did play for Karnali in the tournament opener, but Iftikhar Ahmed and Hunain Shah sat out Janakpur's first match, and players other franchises had planned to sign were unable to take part. The pressure has built to the point where franchises have pressed for a foreign-player draft in response to the row.

Farhan's return and the players left waiting

Farhan's case shows how quickly the situation moved. He had arrived in Kathmandu for Karnali Yaks, only for the PCB to call him up for national duty, with his return to Nepal expected after the 31 October fixture. That meant he missed Karnali's opening win over Janakpur, and he is set to miss the Yaks' second match as well, with the early points table already taking shape around results played without him.

For Janakpur, the disruption has been just as direct. The Bolts, the inaugural NPL champions, lost their opener to Karnali by 19 runs without Iftikhar and Hunain, and have since reshaped their overseas contingent with Bangladeshi signings. The full schedule runs through to the final on 21 November, so any player who returns after 31 October would still have most of the league stage ahead of him, provided the NOC question is resolved.

Supporters who could not reach Kirtipur have followed the early matches through live scores and streaming coverage, after opening-day tickets sold out within 30 minutes. The crowds Akhtar saw under the floodlights on Tuesday were, in that sense, the visible end of a tournament that has already captured the country's attention.

Nepal's case to the PCB

What Akhtar said he will carry back to the PCB is as much about Nepal as about the missing players. Impressed by the crowd's enthusiasm under the floodlights, he remarked that Nepal was delivering excellent cricket despite being a small country, and said it was easy to see that Nepali cricket had a bright future. His point was that the PCB should hear about the passion and the infrastructure he witnessed at Kirtipur, not only about the paperwork dispute.

That matters because Akhtar is not a neutral observer. He is in Nepal as a special guest analyst for Himalaya Sports' NPL coverage, and his voice carries weight with Pakistani cricket audiences and administrators alike. A former fast bowler who took 444 international wickets and bowled the fastest delivery ever officially recorded, 161.3 km/h at the 2003 World Cup, he is one of the few figures who can raise a franchise-league dispute directly with a board and expect to be heard.

His pledge is nevertheless only a first step. Akhtar himself said he does not yet know the full details, and a conversation with the PCB is not a decision by the PCB. For now, the Pakistani players' absence remains unresolved, the reported fee remains unconfirmed in writing, and the franchises must plan around a squad picture that could still change after 31 October.