Mujeeb ur Rahman removed from Melbourne Renegades’ squad in BBL following ACB sanctions

Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman has been left out of Melbourne Renegades’ next fixture in the Big Bash League 2023-24 against Melbourne Stars on Tuesday after sanctions imposed by the Afghanistan Cricket Board.

A week ago, ACB said that Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen Ul Haq had their annual contracts delayed and permission to play franchise cricket revoked for ignoring “national responsibility.”

The players had asked the Afghanistan Cricket Board to be released from central contracts and grant permission to play in leagues abroad, the ACB said.

Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi, however, have made it to the Afghanistan squad for the ongoing three-match T20I series against UAE.

Earlier, the Renegades management had stated that they had received no communication regarding Mujeeb’s unavailability for future games and they will continue to support him for the remainder of the season. However, they issued a fresh statement on Monday, January 1 announcing his removal from the squad, CricTracker reported.

“Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been removed from the squad after a change to his NOC conditions made him unavailable for the match,” said Melbourne Renegades in a statement.

Mujeeb was a part of the XI during Renegades’ last fixture against Adelaide Strikers on December 29 where he registered figures of 3/20 in four overs and helped his side win their first game of the season.