Pakistan Cricket Board asks its players to priortise country over franchise cricket

Days after ace Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf declined to participate in the upcoming Tour of Australia, Pakistan Cricket Board has advised its players to priortise the country over franchise cricket.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez said, 'All centrally contracted and domestic contracted players, for all of them, the priority is Pakistan. The point of offering it (contract) to the 20-25 players is to make sure they are available to play.'

Haris Rauf made himself unavailable for selection for the upcoming 3-match Test series in Australia starting December 14. He is waiting for an NOC to play for the Melbourne Stars, a franchise of Australia's Big Bash League.

He stated that a situation similar to Rauf's unavailability was observed during the Asia Cup and World Cup.

'There was talk of fatigue, or players were getting injured because their workloads were too much, or not performing as they should,' Hafeez revealed.

The former Pakistan captain concluded that ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup, the country's cricket board will personally manage the players' workload and if seen fit, only then will the PCB issue a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) to the player.