Gujarat Titans’ spinner Noor Ahmad faces one year ban for breaching player agreement

The promising Afghanistan talent, Noor Ahmad, has received a one-year ban from the International League T20 (ILT20) for violating his player agreement. Noor, primarily a left-arm wrist spinner, represented the Sharjah Warriors in the league’s first season. Despite the Warriors’ offer to extend his contract after the season, the 19-year-old declined to sign the extension.

The Gujarat Titans spinner, who is part of the Indian Premier League (IPL), was absent from the recently concluded ILT20 2024. Following his refusal to agree to a contract extension under similar terms, the Warriors sought intervention from the ILT20 to address the disagreement. A three-member disciplinary committee was established by the league to deliberate on the issue.

Following the completion of the investigation, Noor Ahmad was issued a 12-month ban from participating in the league. Initially, the committee had proposed a 20-month ban for the spinner. However, upon discovering that his agent was not fully briefed on the contract terms and that he was a minor at the time, the ban was reduced by eight months.

IPL 2024 Schedule likely to be announced in phases

The 2024 IPL schedule is expected to be unveiled gradually, with the Governing Council (GC) under Arun Singh Dhumal currently in the process of finalizing details. The initial phase of the schedule will be released soon, with no plans to relocate the tournament amidst the upcoming elections. Similar to the 2019 season coinciding with General Elections, the schedule will be rolled out in stages, with the first set of games announced before the complete schedule, including qualifiers, eliminators, and the final.

“We have been discussing internally and have more or less figured out the schedule but a final announcement is likely to happen the moment we get clarity and necessary clearances from the Home Ministry and Election Commission of India on the polling schedule. The schedule will be announced in phases. Like it happened in 2019. For the first few games of each team, we will release the schedule soon and then we get more clarity on polling schedule and other important dates, we will announce the remainder,” the source said as reported by News18.