England have maintained a firm stance against Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, citing concerns over the treatment of women. Several England players have withdrawn from the upcoming draft for the inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) T20 amid backlash over the tournament. The two nations have not played a bilateral series since the Taliban takeover, although they have faced each other in multinational tournaments. England Test star Ollie Pope is the biggest name among the three players who have opted out of the APL draft.
Pope, who has represented England in 64 Test matches and scored 3,732 runs, had initially registered for the draft but has now withdrawn his name, according to a report by Cricinfo .
Earlier, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Richard Thompson said that the board would have to carefully consider whether to grant No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to players wishing to participate in the APL, taking government policies and regulations into account. Will Smeed and David Willey have also pulled out of the draft.
The draft for the inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) T20 is set to take place on October 24.
But it is down to the player to make that decision,” Key said on Test Match Special podcast. I need to be able to pay my rent and I need to be able to earn a living while I can, so as long as it’s been approved by the boards, I am happy to go,” Maland told the Test Match Special podcast. “Legally it is hard to stop players going over and playing in these competitions. It becomes a moral judgement and players have to be prepared to take the right moral stance. Personally, and it is easy for me to say, I would not go and play. “As players we take our guidance from the ICC and the boards. I have a daughter, I want her to play sport, I want her to get into playing sport and enjoying it, so I fully understand that argument. But at the end of the day, I’m a cricketer.
