Abu Dhabi T10 League 2026: Pakistan players cleared after PCB NOC deal
Abu Dhabi T10 starts on 7 November, and 16 Pakistan players including Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah look set to play after a PCB NOC deal.
The Abu Dhabi T10 League 2026 starts on Saturday, 7 November, and after two days of doubt, Pakistan’s players look set to be part of it. The Pakistan Cricket Board and the league’s organisers have reached an agreement over the players’ No-Objection Certificates (NOCs), according to reports in Pakistan and the UAE on Friday.
What was the NOC row about?
Every Pakistani cricketer needs a PCB NOC to play in a foreign league. On Thursday, the board was reported to be holding back those certificates unless the league paid $10,000 for each player it cleared. Franchises started looking at replacements.
Under the deal now reported, the PCB gets a one-time payment for the NOCs, understood to be less than its first demand, and Pakistani players get to use the training and cricket facilities at the Abu Dhabi Cricket and Sports Hub for the next 12 months. The PCB has not issued a public statement on the terms.
Pakistan players in the Abu Dhabi T10
Sixteen Pakistani players were picked by five of the six franchises in the draft on 30 September. They include:
- Fakhar Zaman (icon player, United Tigers)
- Naseem Shah
- Shadab Khan
- Iftikhar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Abbas Afridi and Sufyan Moqim (United Tigers)
- Salman Irshad (Arabian Aces, whose icon is England’s Moeen Ali)
Mohammad Amir is also among the players drafted. Final squads can still change before each team’s first match.
Schedule and format
- Dates: 7 to 20 November
- Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
- Teams: six franchises, 108 players
- Matches: 30 league games from 7 to 19 November, then the playoffs and final on 20 November; the team that finishes first in the league goes straight to the final
- Opening match: UAE Bulls vs Yas Lions, 3:30 PM UAE time (4:30 PM in Pakistan)
Ten overs a side means each innings lasts about 45 minutes, so a match fits into an evening.
Why it matters
For fringe Pakistan players like Iftikhar and Faheem, a franchise contract and a year of access to a top training base is useful money and practice in the off-season.
Watch for the final squad lists on Saturday morning, which will confirm who actually got their NOC.
