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Noor Ahmad will not play in this year’s Caribbean Premier League 2026. The Afghanistan Cricket Board has revoked his no-objection certificate, and St Lucia Kings have signed Tim Seifert in his place.

No reason has been given

That is worth stating plainly rather than filling in. The report carries a statement from the franchise and none from the board, and it does not explain at all the revocation.

The Kings said they were disappointed and wished him well, and that Seifert was on his way to Saint Lucia. Noor never traveled to the West Indies at all.

He is not a small loss

The left-arm wristspinner was the competition’s leading wicket-taker when the Kings won it in 2024, with 22 wickets from 12 games.

There is a longer history of him not quite getting there. He first signed for the franchise in 2020, when they were the St Lucia Zouks, and never played a match for them because of visa issues.

Seifert arrives in form

The New Zealand opener and wicketkeeper has just won the men’s Hundred with Manchester Super Giants, finishing as the season’s second-highest run-scorer with 394 runs. He was Player of the Match in the final, making 72 from 38 balls to see off Trent Rockets.

He knows the dressing room, having been with the Kings for the last two seasons, and he knows the Caribbean, having played for Trinbago Knight Riders before that. The innings the report picks out is his 125 not out from 53 balls against the Antigua and Barbuda Falcons.

The Kings have won two matches this season and were third going into Wednesday night’s game with the Guyana Amazon Warriors.