File image of Mujeeb Ur Rahman© AFP
Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been left out of the squad for the Melbourne Renegades BBL clash against Melbourne Stars following a “change to his No-Objection Certificate (NOC) conditions”. After being asked to be left out of the central contract 2024, Mujeeb along with pacers Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi was sanctioned by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). “The insistence on not signing the central contract for these players was their involvement in commercial leagues, prioritizing their personal interests over playing for Afghanistan, which is regarded as a national responsibility. By opting for their release, the Afghanistan Cricket Board has decided to take disciplinary measures against these players,” a statement from ACB read.
The sanctions included revoking any NOC they currently possess along with no NOCs for the three bowlers to play in T20 leagues for the next two years.
Melbourne Renegades released a statement to announce Mujeeb’s absence from the squad which read as quoted from ESPNcricinfo, “Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been removed from the squad after a change to his NOC conditions made him unavailable for the match.”
According to ESPNcricinfo, Naveen and Farooqi approached the ACB and expressed a strong desire to represent the nation. They were added to Afghanistan’s squad for their three-match T20I series against UAE.
The series is currently on level terms with Afghanistan winning the game quite comfortably by 72 runs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz‘s century powered Afghanistan to a score of 203/3, the bowlers in return did their job and accomplished a comprehensive victory.
Farooqi claimed two wickets after giving away just 19 runs while Naveen claimed a single wicket in his four-over spell and spilled 25 runs.
In the second T20, UAE bounced back to level the series as they restricted Afghanistan to 155 after setting a total of 166/7 in the first innings. The series will conclude on Tuesday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
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