Will PCB issue NOC to Pakistan players for Afghanistan Premier League? List of Pakistan stars who have registered for APL

A PCB spokesperson has indicated that No-Objection Certificates for the Afghanistan Premier League are unlikely.

Twenty-nine Pakistan players have registered for the draft in Dubai on Tuesday.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board's own register makes their availability conditional on PCB clearance.

Will the PCB issue NOCs to Pakistan players for the APL?

Twenty-nine Pakistan cricketers put their names into the Afghanistan Premier League draft, which takes place in Dubai on Tuesday, November 3. On current indications, most of them will not be going anywhere.

Asked by Cricbuzz whether the Pakistan Cricket Board would grant the required No-Objection Certificates, a spokesperson said simply: "I don't think so." There are reports that applications have already been rejected, against a backdrop of diplomatic tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board has acknowledged the problem in its own paperwork. The auction register, which shortlists 462 players in all, formally states that the availability of Pakistan players is subject to NOCs being received from the PCB.

One Pakistan-born name on the list is unaffected. Mohammad Amir has registered as a UK national, with Pakistan listed only as his country of residence, which removes the NOC requirement altogether and places him in the Platinum category.

This is not the first time this year the board has held up clearances. In October, the PCB withheld NOCs for seven Pakistan players signed by Nepal Premier League franchises, reportedly seeking a payment of USD 25,000 per player, the same figure that caused a standoff over Major League Cricket in July.

List of Pakistan players registered for the APL draft

The register includes current T20I regulars alongside several senior names, with the tournament itself due to begin on December 27.

Fakhar Zaman registered days after top-scoring in the ODI tri-series final in Lahore, while Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz, Arafat Minhas and Naseem Shah are all part of Pakistan's current white-ball plans.

They are not the only overseas contingent in doubt. Ten Bangladesh players are also on the register, with Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Rishad Hossain in the Platinum bracket and Shakib Al Hasan in Diamond.

The Cricket News Opinion: Why the NOC question matters beyond this draft

For the APL, the stakes are straightforward. It is a five-team league with 6-7 overseas slots per side, and 29 Pakistan registrations represent a significant share of the pool that franchises will be bidding on. Losing them means a thinner tournament in its first properly marketed edition.

For the players, the issue is income. Platinum-category fees are USD 100,000 and team purses run between USD 650,000 and USD 750,000, and for the senior names on that list the franchise circuit is an increasingly large part of what they earn.

The wider pattern is the one worth watching. Between the MLC standoff in July, the Nepal Premier League NOCs in October and now the APL, the PCB has blocked or delayed clearances three times in four months. Amir's registration as a UK national points to where that leads if it continues.

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