Recognizing their importance to the Pakistan cricket team, the PCB decided to rest these star players. With a packed schedule leading up to the Champions Trophy 2025, which Pakistan will host, maintaining the players' fitness and minimizing injury risk is a top priority for the PCB under the leadership of Mohsin Naqvi.
Given Pakistan's busy cricket calendar, extending until May 2025, the PCB emphasized the need for the players to be well-rested and injury-free. The decision was influenced by the team's jam-packed schedule, which includes nine ICC World Test Championship matches and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
“The PCB has provided the following update on the player NOC requests for the Global T20 due to be played in Canada later this month,” the PCB stated in a press release.
The PCB had received NOC requests from Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi for the Global T20 event. After considering Pakistan’s cricket calendar from August 2024 to March 2025, and consulting with the players and the national selection committee, the decision was made to decline their requests.
These all-format players are crucial for the upcoming eight months, during which Pakistan will play nine Tests, 14 ODIs, and nine T20Is. "In line with the PCB’s workload management policy, it is in the best interest of Pakistan cricket and the players that they skip the upcoming event in Canada, ensuring they are in peak mental and physical condition for the season starting with the two-Test series against Bangladesh," the statement added.
Notably, the PCB allows players to participate in two franchise cricket leagues in addition to the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Pakistan’s Schedule for the Remainder of 2024:
- August: Two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home as part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25
- October: Three-match Test series against England at home as part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25
- November 4-18: Travel to Australia for three ODIs and three T20Is
- November 20-December 5: Travel to Zimbabwe for three ODIs and three T20Is
- December 10-January 03, 2025: Travel to South Africa for three T20Is, three ODIs, and two Tests