Kathmandu, October 28
Two Pakistani players of Janakpur Bolts, Iftikhar Ahmed and Hunain Shah, will return home. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has shown no sign that it will give permission.
Janakpur will wait for the PCB’s final answer until Thursday. After that, it plans to send the players back.
Janakpur Bolts Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Niroj Khatiwada said the franchise has contacted the PCB by email. It has not received an official reply. He said there is no point keeping both players in the squad if no clear decision comes by Wednesday.
“We have emailed the PCB. If there is no clear reply by Wednesday, the players will return. It would not be good to keep them here without playing,” Khatiwada said.
There was a report that the PCB asked for US$25,000 to let Pakistani players play in the NPL. Khatiwada said the board has had no direct talks with the franchise about this. He said the demand was reported in the media. But Janakpur Bolts has no information that the PCB officially made such a demand.
“The PCB has not spoken to the franchise at all. This is between the players and their board. We also have no right to deal directly with them on whether to give permission,” Khatiwada said.
He said the players’ absence has hurt Janakpur’s team balance and strategy. The problem became clear only two days before the tournament began. That made it hard even to find replacements.
“The plan we used to build the team has been affected. We had to bench two quality players. The plan made for them could not be carried out,” Khatiwada said.
Janakpur has had to arrange replacements. Khatiwada said the team had also signed Kusal Perera as a backup. But the last-minute uncertainty over player availability hurt the team’s preparation.
He said such challenges can arise in franchise cricket. But uncertainty over players in the middle of a tournament makes things hard for team management. He said the team is trying to field the strongest possible side so that Nepali supporters are not disappointed.
