Vijay Shankar playing for CSK (Source: AFP Photos)
As many as three Indians, 29 Pakistani players and 10 Bangladeshi cricketers registered themselves for the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) draft to confirm their availability for the competition. The list included popular names from India, including Vijay Shankar.
Usually, Indians do not get the permission to play in overseas T20 leagues. They can only feature there if they announce their domestic and international retirement.
Shankar did the same in June at the age of 35, and thus, he could register himself for the APL 2026 draft. Along with him, Ayaan Khan and Murugan Ashwin have also registered for the APL draft as Indians.
Saim Ayub Headlines APL Draft From Pakistan
Meanwhile, a total of 29 players from Pakistan put their names forward for the APL draft, to be held in Dubai on Tuesday (November 3). The list included Saim Ayub, Arafat Minhas and Hasan Nawaz among the current bunch of Pakistan T20I regulars.
Fakhar Zaman, Pakistan’s hero of the just-concluded ODI Tri Series final, is also there, along with Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf, among others.
Shakib Al Hasan From Bangladesh In APL draft During Diamond Category
Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh is one of the 10 cricketers available for selection in the APL draft. However, he is in the Diamond category, unlike Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, and Rishad Hossain, who are in the Platinum category.
The others are Bangladesh T20I captain Litton Das, Towhid Hridoy, Shoriful Islam and Nahid Rana.
Indians Registered For Afghanistan Premier League Draft
Vijay Shankar, Ayaan Khan, Murugan Ashwin
Pakistani Registered For Afghanistan Premier League Draft
Saim Ayub, Arafat Minhas, Hasan Nawaz, Azam Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Iftikhar Ahmad, Naseem Shah, Abdullah Shafique, Haider Ali, Hassan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Waseem Jr, Saad Baig, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Haris, Khurram Shahzad, Imad Waseem, Faheem Ashraf, Kamran Ghulam, Sharjeel Khan, Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan, Gazi Ghori, Usman Qadir, Rumman Raees, Irfan Khan Niazi, Abdul Samad, Sameer Minhas
Bangladeshi Players Registered For Afghanistan Premier League Draft
Mushfiqur Rahim, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Rishad Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Towhid Hridoy, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana
The other Indian-origin players who will be in the APL 2026 draft are KS Bharat (UAE), Unmukt Chand (USA), Rahul Chopra (UAE), Akshdeep Nath (UAE), Alishan Sharafu (UAE), Aryan Afzal Khan (UAE), Ayaan Khan (Oman), Dhruv Parashar (UAE), Vraj Patel (Kenya) and Yasin Patel (Kuwait).
In another development, Mohammad Amir, former Pakistan pacer, will be available during APL draft, but as an UK resident.
The upcoming edition of the Afghanistan Premier League will get underway on December 27, 2026.
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