Afghanistan cricket board sanctions, delays central contracts of Mujeeb, Naveen and Farooqi

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has delayed the annual contracts for national team members Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, and Naveen Ul Haq Mureed. Equally alarmingly, the trio will not be granted a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the next two years which puts their participation in Indian Premier League (IPL) and other T20 leagues in doubt. According to an ACB release, the board has formed a “dedicated committee to thoroughly investigate the matter”, after they expressed a desire to be released from their central contracts from 1 January. “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,” the ACB said on its website. “By opting for their release, the Afghanistan Cricket Board has decided to take disciplinary measures against these players,” the board added. Afghanistan are scheduled to play a three-match T20I series against India with the first game to be played on 11 January in Mohali, second on 14 January in Indore and third on 17 January in Bengaluru. “In response, the ACB assigned a dedicated committee to thoroughly investigate the matter, develop appropriate recommendations that best serve the ACB’s interests and share them with the ACB’s top management,” the ACB said. The board added that Mujeeb, Naveen and Farooqi have also requested to “consider their consent for participation in the national events”. Mujeeb was roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for Rs 2 crore during the mini-auction earlier this month for IPL 2024, Naveen was retained by Lucknow Super Giants and Farooqi by Sunrisers Hyderabad. The ACB further informed that its special committee has made a three-point recommendation. “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.” The ACB said NOCs to these three players will be revoked immediately. Each of these three players represented Afghanistan in the 50-over World Cup in October-November.