SYDNEY: Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has shared his perspective on the ongoing conflict between club commitments and international cricket commitments.
Earlier in March of this year, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi opened a press conference in Karachi about NOC players for foreign leagues and said, “We work on NOC policy developed by previous regime. We want to implement the policy that was introduced and strictly regulate the rules of the two leagues. There will be no peace here. The main thing is to prioritize the national team. All PCB employees will be required to work full-time with the organization and will not be allowed to work in the private sector.
In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Ponting was asked about his position on club and country matters.
Noting the challenges of Test cricket, Ponting said traditional powerhouses are not as dominant as they used to be, partly opting for lucrative franchise leagues instead of international commitments.
“Yes, the game is now at a very dangerous stage. In the last few years, I have actually said that with Test cricket – the stronger, bigger test-playing nations that I spoke to once 20, 30 years ago, I thought they not at the same level as usual. because their players have become more cricketers, they want to go and not represent their country is that the cricket career is very short. So you can’t be happy for the players to be able to go and do what they’re doing now,” he said.
Ponting, however, questioned Pakistan’s model, where international players are restricted to a limited number of T20 leagues every year.
“The interesting model for me is in Pakistan, where international players are only allowed to play, I think, two T20 matches a year.”
At a press conference in Karachi in early March, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi discussed the issuance of NOCs for players to participate in foreign leagues. Asserting that he intends to adopt and implement the NOC policy laid down by the previous administration, he said the two leagues must strictly abide by the rules.
“We will work on the NOC policy developed by the previous regime. We want to implement the policy that was introduced and strictly regulate the rules of the two leagues. There will be no peace here. The main thing is to prioritize the national team. All PCB employees must work full-time for the organization and will not be allowed working in the private sector,” said Naqvi.
Asked about a possible solution to the problem, Ponting said the trend could be players prioritizing club commitments over international commitments, similar to the structure seen in football.
