The West Indies Cricket Board says the reason it rejected Test captain Jason Holder’s application for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play in the inaugural Pakistan Super League was because the player’s first priority needed to be the domestic competition.

The 24-year-old Holder, a rising star in the game, was last month drafted by franchise team Quetta Gladiators but confirmed recently he was forced to turn down the offer after not securing an NOC from the WICB.

However, newly appointed WICB marketing and communications manager, Carole Beckford, said West Indies “retained” players had an “obligation” to turn out in the regional tournaments.

“The WICB has created the window for its retained players to participate in the Indian Premier League, and the Caribbean Premier League,” she told the Gleaner newspaper here.

“The captain is among the retained players and has an obligation to participate in the domestic competitions.”

Holder, also the Windies one-day captain, was one of 15 players announced last Friday who had been handed year-long contracts by the WICB.

Last month, the WICB had also warned the region’s top players to make themselves available for the domestic competitions so as to remain eligible for selection to international tournaments.

“The Board has looked at its tournament schedule and has placed each tournament at a time that allows our international players to participate in other competitions overseas,” CEO Michael Muirhead said.

“We however value our competitions and we think the fans would want to see our best players compete against each other.”

The Pakistan Super League runs from February 4-23 and will clash with the second round of the West Indies first class championship which begins February 11.

Holder, a Barbadian, represents Barbados Pride in the domestic competition.