Stabroek News

Holder has domestic obligation­s, says WICB

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– The West Indies Cricket Board says the reason it rejected Test captain Jason Holder’s applicatio­n for a No Objection Certificat­e (NOC) to play in the inaugural Pakistan Super League was because the player’s first priority needed to be the domestic competitio­n.

The 24-year-old Holder, a rising star in the game, was last month drafted by franchise team Quetta Gladiators but confirmed recently he was forced to turn down the offer after not securing an NOC from the WICB.

However, newly appointed WICB marketing and communicat­ions manager, Carole Beckford, said West Indies “retained” players had an “obligation” to turn out in the regional tournament­s.

“The WICB has created the window for its retained players to participat­e in the Indian Premier League, and the Caribbean Premier League,” she told the Gleaner newspaper here.

“The captain is among the retained players and has an obligation to participat­e in the domestic competitio­ns.”

Holder, also the Windies oneday captain, was one of 15 play- ers announced last Friday who had been handed year-long contracts by the WICB.

Last month, the WICB had also warned the region’s top players to make themselves available for the domestic competitio­ns so as to remain eligible for selection to internatio­nal tournament­s.

“The Board has looked at its tournament schedule and has placed each tournament at a time that allows our internatio­nal players to participat­e in other compe- titions overseas,” CEO Michael Muirhead said.

“We however value our competitio­ns and we think the fans would want to see our best players compete against each other.”

The Pakistan Super League runs from February 4-23 and will clash with the second round of the West Indies first class championsh­ip which begins February 11.

Holder, a Barbadian, represents Barbados Pride in the domestic competitio­n.

 ??  ?? West Indies Test captain Jason Holder has failed to secure an NOC from the WICB.
West Indies Test captain Jason Holder has failed to secure an NOC from the WICB.

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