BCB draws up new guidelines, to allow players two NOCs every year for overseas leagues

In a recent development, the Bangladesh Cricket Board‘s (BCB) CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury has declared that the board will allow the country’s contracted players only two No Objection Certificates (NOC) per year to play in overseas leagues. The news of the updated terms was conveyed to Bangladesh’s contracted players via a letter outlining the new restrictions and comes into effect immediately.

Chowdhury, however, was unclear about what prompted the board to make this decision but can be dubbed as the repercussions of the major fallout after Bangladesh’s disastrous tour of South Africa. Limiting the number of NOCs is an unprecedented move from the BCB, and given how they have reacted in the past, this policy could see a reversal as well. The leagues across all the formats of the game are included in the restrictions list. The board also mandates its players to participate in Bangladesh’s first-class tournaments.

Speaking about the new norms, Chowdhury cleared any air of ambiguity saying, “It is a principled, policy decision of the board. We will allow two NOCs per year. It will be on a case-by-case basis and it is with immediate effect. We want to give them enough rest and manage their injuries. We want to ensure all our players are available for international matches,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Shakib Al Hasan to suffer the most

The board has refused NOCs in the past, especially in the case of Shakib Al Hasan, when he was banned for six months in 2014. But Shakib’s restriction was soon lifted, after a string of strong performances from the all-rounder for the national side.

The left-hander is also set to suffer the most from this move. Bangladesh’s busiest cricketer, the all-rounder has been a globetrotter playing in several leagues like the IPL, PSL, and CPL for several years. The likes of Tamim Iqbal, Mustafizur Rahman and Mahmudullah have also started to steadily feature in T20 leagues but will get limited under the new guidelines.