BCCI revokes Yusuf Pathan NoC to play in Hong Kong T20 League

Just a few days after Yusuf Pathan was confirmed to be the first male cricketer from India to be playing in a T20 tournament overseas, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken the executive decision to revoke the No Objection Certificate granted to the former World Cup winner. This comes as a massive shock to those who would have loved to see the likes of Yusuf Pathan ply his trade in a tournament that has indeed seen some of the big names in the form of Michael Clarke and Kumar Sangakkara.

A similar incident had indeed taken place when Dinesh Karthik had applied for an NoC a few months back to play cricket in the Caribbean Premier League. However, while Pathan was not available for comment, Karthik was quite clear in the manner that he stated that his application was indeed spiked by the Board.

However, MV Sridhar, the BCCI’s game development manager has stated that had this been a league and not a tournament, Pathan could have made his way up to play in Hong Kong. “League would mean franchises, league would mean auctions, league would mean players being requested and paid according to their capabilities — there’s a lot of difference,” Sridhar had said.

“Indian players have a brand name. Indian players playing in league will attract Indian viewers. It would also mean that our sponsors too want to invest in other leagues. That is why we will be not allowing any Indian players to be part of any leagues,” a BCCI official stated.

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