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The Afghanistan fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq has arrived in South Africa to participate in the ongoing SA20 season for Durban Super Giants after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) relaxed sanctions against him and his two teammates. Notably, the ACB had denied the No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to three players to participate in franchise leagues last month following a contractual dispute.
Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman were sanctioned last month by the ACB for “prioritising their personal interests over playing for Afghanistan.” They told the ACB about their wishes to not sign central contracts for the national team in 2024 to give themselves the best chance to compete in franchise leagues worldwide.
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The ACB initially told the three players about how they would be ineligible for NOCs for two years while revoking Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s permission to keep on playing for Melbourne Renegades in the BBL. But, as per the report from ESPNcricinfo, their sanctions were largely reversed on review by the ACB, allowing them to sign central contracts to play for Afghanistan while granting them “limited NOCs.”
The excerpts of the press release from the Afghanistan Cricket Board about the matter read, “ACB will strictly consider the issuance of the NOCs to the respected players while prioritising the national duty and ACB's interests.” In the meantime, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman took part in the recently concluded T20I series for Afghanistan against India away from home which they lost 3-0 in a clean sweep.
Moreover, Naveen-ul-Haq is set to replace Richard Gleeson in the Durban Super Giants squad. He could end up playing his first match of the SA20 season against Pretoria Capitals at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday, January 18.
