Mujeeb Ur Rahman excluded from Melbourne Derby due to revised NOC conditions

The Afghanistan Cricket Board had taken strict action against three players for prioritizing commercial leagues over national duty. While the two pacers Naveen Ul Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi have approached the Board in wanting to represent the nation and be featured in the T20I Series vs the United Arab Emirates(UAE), the same cannot be said about the 22-year-old Mujeeb Ur Rahman who was still playing in the Big Bash League(BBL) for the Melbourne Renegades. The mystery spinner did not feature in the T20I Series and continued to play in the franchise which has resulted in the Board taking action against him once again.

There is no doubt that Mujeeb is one of the best bowlers for Afghanistan right now with his ability to deceive the batters with his carrot balls and wrong uns and has been successful in getting Wickets at any stage of the game. He was also having a great tournament in the BBL as well and is currently the highest wicket-taker for his team and played a huge role in the Melbourne Renegades' only victory against the Adelaide Strikers with 3/20 from his 4 overs. However, due to an unfortunate turn of events, Mujeeb will be left out of the much anticipated Melbourn derby tomorrow, which will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground(MCG).

The reason behind missing the derby

Due to the strict action taken by the Afghanistan Cricket Board(ACB), the No Objection Certificates to play commercial leagues were already in danger. While the Pacers chose to represent their country, Mujeeb did not approach the Board. Therefore due to the change in the conditions of his NOC Mujeeb will miss out on tomorrow's game. The Renegades team management had also stated that they ‘received no communication that Mujeeb's availability for the BBL could change from original plans' and 'the club will continue to support him for the rest of the BBL season'.

This will be another roadblock for Mujeeb in his career that was filled with a lot of promise, but it seems like this is one of those moments in which he has to fight himself. The fact the ACB have changed the conditions and he will be missing a really important game will be tough for the youngster. This might also be a disappointment for his team since he was one of the key players in the tournament. Let's hope that Mujeeb can come out of this rut and finally come back to playing and performing the way he used to do. This will be a battle he will have to fight himself to stay in the game as long as possible without any more hiccups or problems.