BCCI Withdraws Irfan Pathan’s NOC Ffor Bahrain Cricket Festival
May 20, 2017 at 9:48 PM
In a surprising U-turn, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has withdrawn Irfan Pathan‘s No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the T20 exhibition game in the 2017 Bahrain Cricket Festival. The discarded India all-rounder had travelled to Bahrain to feature in the match and even attended a press conference. However, the BCCI surprisingly revoked his NOC on the day of the match for unspecified reasons.
Pathan was set to lead a team (Irfan Falcons) that was named after him against the Misbah-ul-Haq-led team side named, Misbah Eagles.
Irfan Pathan travelled to Bahrain for the festival match. Sat in press conference for the match. On match day BCCI withdrew his NOC #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) May 20, 2017
Well, this is not the first time when the BCCI has denied permission to its players to play in overseas leagues. Earlier in February this year, the BCCI had revoked Yusuf Pathan’s NOC to participate in the Hong Kong T20 Blitz at the last moment. Yusuf, Irfan’s senior brother, was set to become the first Indian player to play in an overseas tournament after being signed by the Kowloon Cantons but the BCCI quashed his hopes by denying him the permission.
Irfan Pathan’s poor outing in the IPL:
After being ignored in the players’ auction earlier this year, Irfan was given a chance to prove his mettle when he was signed by Gujarat Lions to replace the injured Dwayne Bravo midway through the tournament. However, the 32-year old from Baroda failed to impress in his first game and did not get any chance thereafter. In the solitary match that he played, he managed only 2 runs before conceding 26 in just 2 overs.