Afghanistan star spinner Noor Ahmad has been handed a 12-month ban from the ILT20 for breaching his player agreement with Sharjah Warriors, the tournament's body confirmed on Tuesday. Ahmad represented the Warriors in the first season of the tournament in January-February 2023 but refused to sign an extension for another year, i.e. the 2024 edition of the UAE-based league.
The ILT20 confirmed the development. "The International League T20 has banned spinner Noor Ahmad for 12 months for breaching his Player Agreement with Sharjah Warriors who had signed him for Season 1 of the tournament. Noor was offered another year’s extension by the Warriors but refused to sign the retention notice for Season 2," the tournament body wrote in a statement.
"Noor played for Sharjah Warriors in Season 1 of the ILT20 (January-February 2023) who sent him a retention notice on the same terms and conditions in accordance with the Player Agreement terms ahead of Season 2," the statement added.
Three-member committee initially recommended a 20-month ban but was truncated to a year
Noor refused to sign the extension following which the team approached ILT20 to resolve the dispute. A three-member Disciplinary Committee consisting of the league’s Chief Executive Officer David White, Head of Security and Anti-Corruption Col. Azam and Member Emirates Cricket Board Zayed Abbas investigated the matter and heard both the parties - Noor and the Sharjah Warriors separately and banned the Afghan spinner for 12 months. It had initially recommended a 20-month ban but after considering that Noor was a minor while signing the contract with the Warriors and "represented" to the panel that he was not informed by his agent of the full terms, the body truncated it to a year.
Notably, Noor was part of the SA20 2024 ahead of this tournament where he played for the Durban Super Giants. He is set to be in action in the Indian Premier League 2024, where he plays for 2022 champions Gujarat Titans.
