Pope pulls out of controversial Afghanistan T20 league

England batter Ollie Pope pulls out of the draft for the Afghanistan Premier League. England batter Ollie Pope has pulled out of the draft for the Afghanistan Premier League. Pope had been due to be the only centrally contracted England player in the running for the inaugural edition of the APL, which is set to take place in the United Arab Emirates later this year. On Monday, when England's latest batch of contracts were confirmed, director of cricket Rob Key said he would not play in the APL but it is "legally hard" to prevent England players from taking part. In order for any English player to take part in the league they would require a No Objection Certificate from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

With batter Pope being a contracted player, Key would have been involved in deciding the Surrey man's availability for the APL. However, it is understood Pope has taken the decision to withdraw from the draft taking place later this month independently of Key's view on the competition. "Legally it is hard to stop players going over and playing in these competitions," Key told the Test Match Special podcast. "It becomes a moral judgement and players have to be prepared to take the right moral stance. "Personally, and it is easy for me to