Amir enters APL draft as UK national; PCB unlikely to issue NOC for Pakistan players
It is widely expected that Amir will register for the upcoming IPL auction from England as well
Mohammad Amir is among the players registered for the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) draft, to be held in Dubai on Tuesday (November 3). The 34-year-old Amir, a former Pakistan international now living in England, has acquired British citizenship, according to sources. The draft register, however, lists him as a Pakistan national with residence in the UK. He has been placed in the Platinum category.
Former India internationals Vijay Shankar and KS Bharat, both of whom have retired from all forms of the game, including the IPL, have also registered.
It is widely expected that Amir will register for the upcoming IPL auction from England as well. There is precedence to this. Despite the ban on Pakistan nationals, former international Azhar Mahmood featured in the IPL between 2012 and 2015 for Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders on a British passport.
Whether any franchise shows interest in Amir will be known only in Goa on December 16, when the IPL mini-auction is scheduled. A veteran of 36 Tests, 61 ODIs and 62 T20Is, Amir last played for Pakistan in June 2024, against Ireland in Lauderhill, Florida, during the ICC T20 World Cup.
Vijay, Ayaan Khan and Murugan Ashwin are registered as Indians, while Bharat is listed as an Indian player resident in the UAE. Vijay, Murugan and Bharat have been placed in the Gold category of the draft, for which 462 players have been shortlisted.
The players of Indian origin in the draft include Unmukt Chand (US), 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).
