England’s policy towards Afghan cricket is facing a new test before the inaugural Afghanistan Premier League, with several English players seeking places in a tournament organised by the Afghanistan Cricket Board despite the ECB’s refusal to schedule bilateral men’s series with Afghanistan.
Ollie Pope and Luke Wood are among the English cricketers registered for the APL draft, alongside Moeen Ali, Reece Topley, James Vince, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Laurie Evans.
The five-team competition is scheduled to begin in the United Arab Emirates on December 27, with the player draft set for October 24.
The key distinction lies in how the England and Wales Cricket Board treats bilateral and franchise cricket.
The ECB has declined to arrange bilateral men’s series with Afghanistan because of restrictions imposed on women and girls under the Taliban authorities. Its position on overseas franchise tournaments, however, does not automatically prevent individual English players from participating.
English players require No Objection Certificates from the ECB to compete. The board is expected to grant those clearances if the APL receives the required sanction from the International Cricket Council.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board has sought ICC approval for the tournament.
That difference has drawn criticism in Britain. Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who previously supported calls for England to boycott its 2025 Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan, has urged players to consider the position of Afghan women and girls before joining the league.
Amnesty International has also called on prospective players and the ECB to consider the implications of participation.
The debate gives the inaugural APL significance beyond the launch of another T20 competition. It raises a question international cricket authorities increasingly have to confront: whether policies applied to Afghanistan in bilateral cricket should also extend to franchise competitions connected to the Afghanistan Cricket Board.
Afghan women cricketers, meanwhile, continue to play through a refugee programme supported by the ICC and several national cricket boards.
For the APL, the immediate regulatory question remains ICC sanction. If approval is granted and English players receive their NOCs, the tournament will provide a clear example of the separation the ECB is making between bilateral cricket with Afghanistan and participation in an Afghanistan-organised franchise league.
