The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and ESPNcricinfo have become embroiled in a row over a news article published by the latter, which the former described in a media release as being “baseless, factually incorrect and speculative”.

The article in question reported that the PCB were set to deny the issuing of No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to their players for the Big Bash League, thus barring them from taking part in the Australian T20 competition.

The PCB took issue with ESPNcricinfo on several accounts, including the amount of time they were afforded to respond to a request for comment.

“The PCB said ESPNcricinfo contacted it on Tuesday, 2 August, at 11.20am, requesting for responses latest by 2pm on the same day,” the release stated. “ESPNcricinfo was informed at 11.30am that the PCB will revert by the close of business on Wednesday, 3 August. It was, therefore, astonishing that ESPNcricinfo published the inaccurate story as is, without verifying the actual facts or incorporating PCB comments.

“The PCB then contacted ESPNcricinfo and not only provided them the background but also supplied the actual facts. Sadly, ESPNcricinfo to date has neither removed nor updated its story, and continues to state at the end of their copy: The PCB has been approached for comment.”

The PCB’s statement then outlined 10 points of contention with the ESPNcricinfo article, disputing that they had arrived at any decision regarding the issuing of NOCs for the BBL, and ESPNcricinfo’s reporting that the PCB operated a ‘PSL plus one’ policy with regard to NOCs. They also contested the claim that players had requested copies of newly awarded central contracts to seek legal counsel before signing.

In response, ESPNcricinfo senior editor Osman Samiuddin posted a point-by-point rebuttal on Twitter, standing by his site’s initial report. He claimed that an email sent by the PCB to a player agent had contained a rejection to a request for an NOC to play in the BBL, while also pointing out that ESPNcricinfo had reported that the ‘PSL plus one’ policy was an informal one, and that it was not clear whether it was still in operation. He also stood by the claim that players had requested copies of central contracts before signing them.

In response to the PCB's claims about a story we did yesterday, here are our responses. pic.twitter.com/Vtag2aHIN0

— Osman Samiuddin (@OsmanSamiuddin) August 3, 2022

The row comes amid a time of tension between national boards and franchise cricket. The BBL, which has struggled with a decline in popularity, has recently been hit with the news that David Warner is considering playing in a UAE league which clashes with the BBL. The absence of Pakistan’s stars would be another blow to Cricket Australia.