LSG Pacer Naveen-Ul-Haq Could Miss IPL 2024 After ACB Slaps Sanctions On 3 Afghanistan Players Including Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi 

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has slapped sanctions on three of their players after they intentionally made delays to sign central contracts. The three players who have received the sanctions are Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen Ul Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi. ACB, is a statement, said that these three players have been priortising commercial T20 leagues over national duties.

“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,” read a press releas from Afghanistan Cricket Board.

As a result, ACH has decided not to give central contracts the Mujeeb, Naveen and Fazalhaq for the next few months while they will also be denied the NOCs required to play the T20 leagues around the world. NOCs’ are No Objection Certificate that every player is required from their cricket boards to play in the overseas T20 league.

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) December 25, 2023

Further, ACB has designed a committee to investigate the matter. The committee will also make recommendations to ACB’s top management.

The committee presented the following recommendations to the ACB’s top management:

Not Awarding Central Contracts: Starting from January 1, 2024, the three players shall not be eligible for the central contract for one year. In this case, ACB will consider and decide their participation in events when needed.

Delay Granting No Objection Certificates (NOCs): Consideration of these players as non-eligible to obtain No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for two years. All current NOCs shall be revoked immediately.

Transparently communicate ACB’s stance to the cricketing community, including the ICC, the ACC, Member Countries/Cricket Boards, and the Afghanistan Public.

Naveen, Mujeeb to miss IPL?

Naveen plays IPL cricket for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mujeeb for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). If ACB denies NOCs to these two cricketers, they are likely to miss the next edition of the T20 league in India. Naveen and Mujeeb are a crucial part of the team setup. If the NOCs are not granted, LSG and KKR will have two players less in the squad. That means they will ne required to announce a replacement as soon as Naveen and Mujeeb become unavailable. 

Both the franchises have not spoken up yet on the matter. It will interesting to see what decision ACB takes with IPL 2024 just three months away.