Credit: X
Naveen-ul-Haq has been banned for 20 months from the UAE’s International League T20 tournament, also known as ILT20, for breaching his contract with Sharjah Warriors. The 24-year-old, who had played nine matches for the Sharjah Warriors in the ILT20 2023 season, refused to sign the retention notice for the 2024 season, which led to his suspension from the tournament.
The decision of the ILT20 to hand a 20-month ban to Naveen-ul-Haq is effectively going to ensure that he doesn’t take part in the tournament for its next two seasons in 2024 and 2025. But, in the meantime, the Afghanistan fast bowler reportedly signed a contract to compete in the SA20 in 2024 with the Durban Super Giants, a team which has the same ownership as the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, where he also plays.
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The disciplinary committee of ILT20, which included the CEO David White, the Head of Security and Anti-Corruption Col Azam, and the member of the Emirates Cricket Board Zayed Abbas, was part of the proceedings to solve the dispute between Sharjah Warriors and Naveen-ul-Haq before they gave the aforementioned verdict. Notably, the ILT20 had first initiated a mediation between both parties through an independent third-party mediator when Sharjah Warriors approached them, but to no avail.
The CEO of ILT20, David White said the following words about the matter between Naveen-ul-Haq and Sharjah Warriors in a press release, “We do not take pride in making this announcement but all parties are expected to comply with their contractual commitments and recognize that non-compliance can cause damage to the other party. Unfortunately, Naveen-ul-Haq failed to honour his contractual obligations with the Sharjah Warriors and as such the league had no option but to impose this 20-month ban on him.”
“The disciplinary proceedings against Naveen were conducted in a transparent manner and both parties involved were given opportunities to prepare and present their submissions,” he added.
