Pakistan players banned to play in Afghanistan’s premier domestic league

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will not allow its players and support staff to play in Afghanistan’s domestic Twenty20 league next month after a breakdown in relations between their boards due to Wednesday’s blast in Kabul. At least 80 people were killed and hundreds injured in the Afghanistan capital in an attack which, Afghanistan’s intelligence agency said, was the mastermind of Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network and they got assistance from Pakistan.

Subsequently, the Afghanistan Cricket Board cancelled all proposed fixtures between the two countries, saying “no agreement of friendly matches is possible between both parties”. In PCB’s response to this, they denied permission for cricketers such as Umar Akmal, Babar Azam, and Kamran Akmal to play in the Twenty20 tournament despite gone sold at the auctions last week by different franchises

“The PCB announces that none of the players and officials (coaches) contracted to Afghanistan T20 league would be issued NOCs (no-objection certificates),” the Pakistan board said in a statement on Friday. “No Pakistani player or official can feature in the league,” it added.

This is the 5th edition of the league 

The Afghanistan board also cancelled two Twenty20 matches against Pakistan that were scheduled to be played in July and August.
The 2017 season of the Afghanistan’s Shpageeza Cricket League, known also as SCL, is the fifth edition of the tournament, which was started in 2013. The tournament will feature the sixth teams that played in the previous season. The 2017 season will start on 18 July 2017 and will finish on 28 July. Kabul will host the opening game and the final. The six teams are Band-e-Amir Dragons, Spinghar Lions, Kabul Eagles, Amo Sharks, Mis Ainak and Boost Defenders/Guardians.

Players from Pakistan, Windies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe were among those who went under the hammer in the highest-profile auction yet for the tournament and this may be a huge loss for Afghanistan.