The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly revoked the No-Objection Certificates (NOC) ban on its national men’s players, which effectively restricted them from participating in any overseas franchise leagues.

According to SEN Radio, prominent name such as like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan will be able to feature in the 2025-26 Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia.

PCB’s ban on the NOCs had come days after Pakistan’s loss to arch-rivals India in the Asia Cup 2025 final last month. It was seen as a direct consequence of the match, despite the likes of Babar and Rizwan not even being part of the squad.

Cricket Australia (CA) saw it as a big blow and reportedly reached out to the counterparts in Pakistan to reconsider the move.

“About three weeks ago the Pakistan Cricket Board emailed agents of star players to tell them no objections certificates would be on hold," Australian journalist Tom Morris told SEN.

“Pakistan – like India – would not allow its players to play in the Big Bash or any franchise league outside of the country. This rocked the Big Bash, it rocked Cricket Australia with seven of the eight clubs having one Pakistan player," he said. “I’ve done more digging and I understand CA reached to the PCB on the issues and now they have clarified that these seven players will be allowed to play in the BBL and there is no material change."

“How it transpired behind the scenes? We might never know, but what we do know is the stars can play this summer. Imagine getting an email on September 29 to say they can’t play this season – absolute panic stations. Crisis averted."

Shaheen, Rizwan, and Haris Rauf were among the popular picks at the BBL overseas drafts. Meanwhile, the Sydney Sixers have unveiled a special fan zone named ‘Babaristan’ to welcome Babar to the team and celebrate South Asian culture at their grounds.

The 2025-26 BBL season is slated to get underway on December 14 with the final scheduled for January 25.