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Some Pakistan players are waiting to hear if they will play in the inaugural season of the Major League Cricket in the United States in July. Players like Imad Wasim and Azam Khan, who do not hold any central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board have reportedly agreed deals in principle to play for Seattle Orcas, whose backers are the GMR Groups, who also happen to be the co-owners of Delhi Capitals. Other than them, reports suggest that two other players who are in central contract with the PCB have also been in talks to play for other franchises.
As per a report by ESPN, the centrally contracted players are waiting to hear from the PCB whether they will be granted No-Objection Certificates (NOC) to play in the tournament. The PCB is currently evaluating the league and deliberating over issuing NOCs, for which they will likely charge $25,000 per player. Pakistan have not been involved in franchise leagues that boast investment from IPL franchises, especially SA20 and ILT20. MLC organisers are in talks with PCB over the last couple of weeks over the same, and the cricket regulating body is exploring the terms and conditions before they issue the NOC.
Any appearance by Pakistan players in the US-based T20 league will be significant as they have already missed out on the leagues that took place in the UAE and South Africa. It is to be noted that both the leagues have significant IPL franchise ownership. The suggested reason for their absence was a busy international home season, but there were also suggestions that IPL franchise owners were reluctant to pick Pakistan players because of the strained diplomatic relations shared between both the nations.
