APL 2018: PCB to not allow its current cricketers to play in the tournament

The inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) has been dealt with a severe blow even before it gets underway. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to strictly allow only its retired players for the T20 tournament which will be taking place in the United Arab Emirates. The in-action cricketers who were set to make their presence felt will now have to play the domestic cricket or international cricket if any.

The likes of Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal and Iftikhar Ahmed will not get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the cricket board now to feature in the competition. Most of them are seen playing in the T20 leagues around the world apart from the Indian Premier League (IPL) where Pakistani cricketers are not allowed to play.

Only Shahid Afridi will play APL

According to the reports in Geo TV, the PCB has informed its decision to the in-action players and only the retired players will make an appearance in the APL 2018. Interestingly, only Shahid Afridi, the former cricketer, will be playing in the league which is pretty disappointing for the organisers of the tournament.

Also, the fact that the decision has been taken with the first season of the APL only 12 days away makes it even tougher for the officials now. APL is all set to commence on October 5 and will go on until the 21st of the same month with a handful of foreign cricketers taking part. A total of five teams will fight it out for the glory and it remains to be seen now how the teams will affect with PCB’s late decision to not send its current players to the tournament.

The likes of Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn among others are also reportedly set to play subject to their availability.

[interaction id=”5ba60bd3424674a67375d898″]

Keep following CricTracker for more news and updates.