Mujeeb ur Rahman will not play Melbourne Renegades’ next game in the 2023/24 Big Bash League after a change in his No-Objection Certificate conditions.

Mujeeb was one of three cricketers from Afghanistan alongside Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi who had been sanctioned by the Afghanistan Cricket Board last month for his desire to opt out of the central contracts in a bid to prioritise playing in T20 leagues. As a result, the ACB sanctioned the three players for “prioritising their personal interests over playing for Afghanistan, which is regarded as a national responsibility” by taking disciplinary action against the players and holding back on NOCs for the next two years, which would not allow them to take part in overseas leagues.

The statement by the ACB was released on December 25 but Mujeeb played two games for Melbourne Renegades since then with the franchise saying they had “received no communication that Mujeeb’s availability for the BBL could change from original plans.”

On January 1 (Monday), the Renegades issued a fresh statement that made him unavailable for the side’s next game against Melbourne Stars on Tuesday. “Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been removed from the squad after a change to his NOC conditions made him unavailable for the match.”

Naveen and Farooqi have since then “demonstrated a strong desire to represent their country again” and were picked for Afghanistan’s T20I series against the UAE. Mujeeb was not picked for the series and continued playing in the BBL instead.

Earlier last month, Mujeeb was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2024 IPL at his base price of INR 2 crore. Naveen was retained by Lucknow Super Giants for the next season while Farooqi is with Sunrisers Hyderabad, also being retained after 2023.

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