Pakistani all-rounder Hussain Talat made a surprise start for Karnali Yaks during their first match of Nepal Premier League’s third season against Janakpur Bolts on Tuesday.

Pakistani cricketers’ chance of playing in the NPL was almost over due to Pakistan Cricket Board’s rule related to the no objection certificate (NOC). Every foreign player participating in a franchise league is required to get an NOC from their respective cricket board. However, the Pakistani board required their players to pay an additional USD 25,000 each to be granted permission to play abroad. As a result, six of the seven Pakistani players did not play for their franchises on Tuesday.

Three franchises had signed seven Pakistani cricketers for NPL Season 3. But due to the NOC rule, Chitwan had to replace their three Pakistani players—Usama Mir, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Nawaz. Janakpur, which had signed Iftikhar Ahmed and Hunain Shah, had to keep the Pakistani duo, who were present in the ground, as substitutes against Karnali. Karnali Yaks, meanwhile, fielded Talat on Tuesday.

Karnali had signed two Pakistani players—Talat and Sahibzada Farhan, Pakistan’s T20 captain. Farhan returned back from Kathmandu as he was included in the ODI tour to Sri Lanka, a decision that came after concerns related to NOC. It is why Talat’s inclusion in the squad was a surprise.

“We completed the necessary procedure regarding Talat,” an official of Karnali told the Post under condition of anonymity. “If a cricket board has a rule for its players, it should be followed. We followed it and had Talat play for us.”

It means that Talat’s USD 25,000 fee was paid to the PCB. In others’ cases, the procedure seems to be underway for now as no replacements have been announced.

And the Yaks should be more than happy to have been able to keep Talat.

The fast-bowling all-rounder got out at 3 off 14 with the bat, but he did deliver with the ball. Talat bagged three wickets—of dangerous Moeen Ali (19 off 22) and Kusal Perera (6 off 4) in the same over and Abhishekh Tiwari (20 off 17), who was keeping the Bolts in the chase until the 19th over.

Alongside Talat, Union Bikram Singh Thakuri also bagged three wickets, while Nandan Yadav picked two and Sompal Kami claimed one in Karnali’s 19-run win over Janakpur, who were chasing 133 and could only manage 113.

Talat’s performance would have definitely hurt the Bolts and Chitwan Rhinos, the two teams that could not have experienced Pakistani cricketers play for them.

Meanwhile, it is not the first time that Pakistani players’ NOC have either been denied or revoked. Similar scenarios have been reported in other franchise tournaments around the world as well. As it repeated in the NPL, the question remains: should teams sign Pakistani cricketers at risk?

The PCB uses the NOC mechanism to protect player fitness, manage fast-bowler workloads, and prevent injuries ahead of international series. It also ensures top talent remains available for domestic competitions while safeguarding the commercial exclusivity of the PSL.

However, as the problem keeps repeating with Pakistani players in leagues such as the NPL, franchises could now probably target players from boards with more flexible NOC policies or focus on top talent from Associate nations and non-contracted international players who do not face strict board restrictions.

There is a broader question as well. How much do teams suffer when they have to make last-minute changes in foreign players’ context, especially when they have already announced their signings and created the overall squad based on the targeted players. 

However, the answer seems to be “no”. It is what experienced cricketers said and it is what was proven by Chitwan Rhinos in the first match of Tuesday.

As Mir, Ali and Nawaz, the three Pakistanis signed by the Rhinos, had to return, Chitwan bought in three new players on Tuesday. Dawid Malan, Daniel Richard Mousley and Tom Taylor were the Rhinos’ fresh signings who had reached the TU International Cricket Stadium directly from the Tribhuvan International Airport.

And the trio performed extremely well, helping the Rhinos register a win in their first match of the season.

Malan scored 70 off 50, while Mousley and Taylor picked one wicket each in Chitwan’s eight-run win over Biratnagar Kings, who were chasing 158.

When Biratnagar’s skipper Sandeep Lamichhane was asked during the post-match press conference if the loss felt heavier given the context that three of Chitwan’s foreign players had reached the ground directly from the airport, Lamichhane demurred.

Lamichhane seemed irritated when asked if it was a disadvantage for teams if they do not have their players together for training to bond properly. “I think you should ask the question to yourself,” he said. “There are so many things happening in the world and so many cricket tournaments. It is not easy to have players arrive early.”

However, Lamichhane shared that his teammates had bonded pretty well in these few days. It has only been a couple of days that their foreign players—including Russell, Shubham Ranjane and Charith Asalanka—landed in Kathmandu.

But the Kings were handed their first loss in their tournament opener by Rhinos, which had the freshest players on the field.

“T20 brings a great experience to players that you can take the game anywhere at any time,” Lamichhane said. “It is just a bad day with shot selections [for us].”

Even with franchises and overseas players confirming participation, they arrive late in Kathmandu due to their national and domestic commitments, disallowing the team to train as a whole before the tournament commences.

For instance, Karnali’s biggest signing for the season—South Africa’s David Miller—is yet to arrive. So is David Warner, who has signed for Kathmandu Gorkhas.

For now, the reason behind the delay seems to be a busy cricketing calendar all around the world that denies players to commit to the NPL alone. But once NPL grows more in terms of the standard of cricket, infrastructure and economy, cricket experts say, the problem will resolve itself.