Naveen-ul-Haq has been banned by the UAE's ILT20 for 20 months for breaching his player agreement with Sharjah Warriors when he "refused to sign the retention notice" for the second season of the tournament, to be played in January-February next year. The decision effectively bars Naveen from playing in the ILT20 in 2024 and 2025, but he has signed with Durban's Super Giants - owned by the group that owns IPL team Lucknow Super Giants, of which he is a part - in the South African SA20 league, which will be played almost concurrently with the ILT20. 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," an ILT20 statement said. "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."

The league's disciplinary committee, comprising ILT20 chief executive David White, head of security and anti-corruption Col Azam, and Zayed Abbas, member of the Emirates Cricket Board, heard the points of view of both Warriors and Naveen 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," White said. "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 in a transparent manner and both parties involved were given opportunities to prepare and present their submissions." Naveen was one of the better performers for Warriors in the 2023 season, finishing as their joint-highest wicket-taker (11 wickets) along with Junaid Siddique. Warriors, however, had a rough time of it, winning just three of their ten games to miss the playoffs.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)