Afghanistan pacer Naveen Ul Haq has been banned by UAE’s ILT20 for 20 months for breaching his player agreement with Sharjah Warriors.
This happened as the pacer refused to sign a notice for being retained by his team Sharjah Warriors for the second season of the tournament to be played in January-February next year.
This means Naveen will not be able to play in the ILT20 in 2024 and 2025. However, to offset the loss, the Afghanistan pacer has signed for SA20 league franchise Durban's Super Giants - owned by the group that owns IPL team Lucknow Super Giants, of which he is a part.
“Warriors, who had signed Naveen on for the inaugural edition of the league in 2023, had earlier this year sent him a retention notice on the same terms and conditions. Sharjah Warriors approached the ILT20 to intervene in this dispute. The ILT20 first initiated a mediation process through an independent third-party mediator, however, the mediation failed," an ILT20 statement said.
The committee of ILT20 comprised of chief executive David White, head of security and anti-corruption Col Azam, and Zayed Abbas, member of the Emirates Cricket Board, heard both sides and examined the evidence before them before communicating their verdict.
"We do not take pride in making this announcement but all parties are expected to comply with their contractual commitments and recognize that non-compliance can cause damage to the other party.
Unfortunately, Naveen-ul-Haq failed to honour his contractual obligations with the Sharjah Warriors, and as such the league had no option but to impose this 20-month ban on him. The disciplinary proceedings against Naveen were conducted transparently and both parties involved were given opportunities to prepare and present their submissions,” White said.
Naveen Ul Haq was the joint-highest wicket-taker with 11 scalps to his name in ILT20 2023, along with Junaid Siddique.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
