Noor Ahmad banned from ILT20 for 12 months due to breach of contract

Noor Ahmad, the Afghanistan spinner, has been banned by the UAE's ILT20 for 12 months, for breaching his player agreement with Sharjah Warriors.

Noor, who was signed by Warriors for the first season of the ILT20 in 2023, was offered another year's extension by the franchise, but he refused to sign the retention notice, choosing instead to play at the SA20 with Durban Super Giants.

A statement from the ILT20 said that Noor, 19, had been sent a retention notice on the "same terms and conditions in accordance with the Player Agreement terms" ahead of the second season, and following his refusal to sign, Warriors approached the league directly to intervene in the dispute.

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, investigated the matter and heard the points of view of both Noor and Warriors before communicating their verdict.

The committee had initially recommended a 20-month ban for Noor, but took into consideration the fact that he was a minor while signing the original agreement. The committee eventually decided to pardon eight months from his ban after Noor also explained to them that his agent had not informed him of the full terms of his contract.

Noor played seven matches for Warriors in the first season, picking up four wickets for 148 runs, at an average of 37 and economy of 7.04.

Noor is the second Warriors player in recent months to be handed a ban. Last December, Naveen-ul-Haq was also banned by the league for 20 months for not signing the retention notice, effectively ruling him out of the ILT20 in both 2024 as well as 2025.