LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has refused to grant permission to current national players to participate in the upcoming season of Afghanistan Premier League (APL), it was reported on Tuesday. Last month, Pakistan cricketers had demanded issuance of No Objection Certificates (NOC) to participate in the APL starting October 5. According to sources, the PCB is still sticking to its original decision of only allowing retired cricketers to participate in the APL. The decision means Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Kamran Akmal and Iftikhar Ahmed would not be able to play the league. Whereas, Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz and Faheem Ashraf will be busy with international duty. Former captain of the Pakistan cricket team Shahid Afridi is the only player who will be participating in this year’s tournament after the decision by the cricketing board, sources added. The APL will start from October 5 till October 21. Published in Daily Times, October 3rd 2018.