The Pakistan Cricket Board has apparently placed the no-objection certificates of several Pakistani cricketers on hold, leaving their participation in the Nepal Premier League uncertain.
ESPNcricinfo reports that league insiders say even players who previously received NOCs were told their permission to play had been suspended.
Sources also claim the PCB is asking roughly $25,000 for each player's NOC, though the report could not verify a written request from the board.
The eight-team tournament will be held in Kathmandu from October 26 to November 21. Some Pakistani players have already reached Nepal, while others are waiting for a decision before traveling.
Pakistan's T20I captain Sahibzada Farhan, along with Haider Ali, Hunain Shah, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Hasan Ali and Usama Mir, were expected to take part.
Farhan's involvement hit another snag after he was named as Saim Ayub's replacement in Pakistan's ODI squad for the ongoing tri-nation series against England and Sri Lanka.
The PCB confirmed on Monday that Ayub was released from the squad after asking to return to domestic cricket to work on his batting, and Farhan, already in Kathmandu, is now likely to go back to Pakistan for international duty.
The NOC delay has sparked queries about the PCB's revised central-contract system announced earlier this year.
Under the new structure, separate contracts for red-ball and white-ball cricket were introduced, including a Track D category for T20 specialists, meant to give players more freedom to join overseas franchises when schedules allow.
The board has not yet disclosed which players fall into the new categories or whether the system is fully in force.
Except for Farhan, the Pakistani cricketers slated for the NPL are not involved in the national Test or ODI plans during the league.
These developments have raised concerns about how the PCB will apply its updated overseas-league policy, especially as the alleged NOC fee remains unverified.
