ECB to grant English players NOCs for Afghanistan Premier League

The England and Wales Cricket Board will grant players No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to appear in the new Afghanistan Premier League T20 (APL), despite its refusal to play bilateral cricket against Afghanistan.

The league will be treated in the same way as any other franchise tournament, provided it receives an ICC sanction, Cricinfo reported on 30 September. The Professional Cricketers’ Association had been unclear on the ECB’s position given the board’s previous stance on Afghanistan.

The APL is due to launch on 27 December, run by the Afghanistan Cricket Board alongside promoters Trans Group and ITW Universe. Its first season is set to be staged in the UAE, although the league’s marketing material suggests it ultimately intends to host matches at the Kabul International Cricket Stadium.

England have never played Afghanistan in a bilateral series, and the ECB faced significant pressure to boycott the sides’ Champions Trophy meeting in Lahore last year over the Taliban government’s treatment of women and girls, which the United Nations has described as “gender apartheid”. The fixture went ahead after ECB chair Richard Thompson condemned the “appalling oppression” of women and girls while calling for a “coordinated international response by the cricketing community” rather than a unilateral boycott. Afghanistan won by eight runs to knock England out.

The ECB’s explanation is that its refusal to arrange bilateral series, which it links to Afghanistan having no women’s team, is distinct from any decision over English players’ availability for overseas franchise tournaments.

Sources

• ESPNcricinfo, Matt Roller, “England players to get NOCs for Afghanistan Premier League T20”, published 30 Sep 2026: https://www.cricinfo.com/story/england-players-to-get-nocs-for-afghanistan-premier-league-t20-1556594