Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided not to release its players for the inaugural season of Afghan Premier League (APL). The decision came in response to players’ request to issue them a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the league.
The issue originated last month when the board decided that only retired players would get the NOC for APL.
Many players, who had already signed deals with the APL franchises, demanded PCB to let them participate in the league. But the board management, under the new boss Ehsan Mani, did not budge from its previous decision.
This means that now Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Kamran Akmal, and Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, and Faheem Ashraf would not be part of the league.
So who gets to play? So far, former skipper and the star all-rounder Shahid Afridi is the only retired player contacted for the league.
The Afghan Premier League will kick off on October 5 in Sharjah. The finals would be played on October 21.
The tournament features five teams including Balkh, Paktia, Nangarhar, Kandahar, and Kabul. A total of 23 matches will be played to decide the champion of the inaugural edition of the league.
