Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in frame. PC- XWith Afghanistan cricket finally finding its feet in world cricket, the top officials have decided to bring back its very own franchise league, the Afghanistan Premier League (APL 2026).The IPL-esque Afghani league's inaugural season was played eight years back in 2018, before it was stopped after just one season. As the APL 2026 is making a grand return, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is making all possible efforts to popularise it.PCB to deny NOCs to its players for APL 2026The APL 2026 is scheduled to be played in the December-January window later this year in the UAE, with the draft scheduled on October 24, 2026. Meanwhile, the deadline for registration is October 5, 2026.Nearly 500 overseas have registered to be a part of the Afghan caravan, but the Mohsin Naqvi-led Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to play a spoilsport. Read More: Nahid Rana, Mustafizur Rahman, And Another Bangladesh Star Register For Newest T20 TournamentAccording to renowned journalist from Geo News, Sohail Imran, the PCB will deny the No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to all its national cricketers to participate in the APL 2026. "The Pakistan Cricket Board's decision to not issue NOCs to national cricketers for the Afghanistan Premier League is absolutely correct," Sohail Imran posted on his X handle.Pakistan and Afghanistan's recent differencesIt is worth mentioning that Pakistan and Afghanistan used to share a strong relationship back in the day, with the former helping the budding Afghan cricketers to feature in its domestic circles in the 2010s. However, in recent times, that relationship has only taken a nosedive due to the geopolitical differences. Meanwhile, since late 2025, the tensions between the two countries have only increased manifold due to cross-border conflict, resulting in cross-border violence and militant attacks. Moreover, top cricketers from Afghanistan have openly condemned the attacks led by Pakistan, calling them cowardly, especially after three domestic cricketers were killed in late 2025. Pakistan vs Afghanistan: The new Asian rivalryDespite all the tension, the two cricketing Asian giants have had some enthralling battles on the field. Although the Men in Green have a massive head-to-head lead, their neighbour nation levelled the series after defeating Pakistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they also beat England, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. After the remarkable World Cup victory in India and then finishing as semifinalists in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Afghanistan were referred to as "the second best team in Asia". However, the Afghan team failed to live up to that label in the Asia Cup 2025, as they exited early before the Super 4 stage after losing to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.After the exit, Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan bashed the media for calling them "the second best team" and putting extra pressure on the team.Read More: Nathan Ellis Among 2 Australian Players Ruled Out of South Africa ODIs
