In what is now another major controversy to rock South Asian cricket in recent months, Afghanistan’s players have pulled out of the inaugural Pakistan Super League player auction – a worrying pattern that suggests geopolitical tensions are increasingly dictating the region’s cricketing landscape.
Afghanistan’s top cricketers, including Mujeeb ur Rehman, Seddiqullah Atal, Mohammad Nabi, Waqar Salamkheil and Fazalhaq Farooqi, initially registered for the auction in Lahore on Wednesday. However, according to the franchise owner, they withdrew their names before the proceedings.
ECHOES OF SPOLUMA MUSTAFIZUR
The mass withdrawal follows strikingly similar controversies that have plagued the region’s top T20 leagues. Just weeks ago BCCI has ordered Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman despite his signature worth Rs 9.20 crore in a mini-auction in December 2025, he succumbed to intense political opposition and pressure from religious groups over the security of minorities in Bangladesh.
Now it is Pakistan’s turn to witness cricket becoming collateral damage in diplomatic disputes – and this coincidence cannot be ignored.
GURBAZ’S LAUNCH OF MASS SUBSCRIPTION
The withdrawal of the Afghan players came after widespread opposition Peshawar Zalmi direct signing of Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who subsequently quit the PSL amid controversy – a sequence eerily reminiscent of the Mustafizur saga.
PSL CEO Salman Naseer offered conflicting accounts of what happened. While he claimed that some players from Afghanistan were listed in the auction pool but were not picked by any franchise, he acknowledged the undeniable political reality in the game.
“After Zalmi signed Gurbaz due to strained Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, there was a strong backlash and after Gurbaz pulled out of the PSL. So other players also decided it was better to avoid backlash,” explained Naseer as quoted by PTI.
A PATTERN OF POLITICAL INTERFERENCE
The parallels across all three controversies are hard to ignore. Just as the BCCI cited “recent developments” in instructing KKR to release Mustafizur, the PSL is now grappling with its own geopolitical crisis affecting player participation.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been deeply strained since late last year, when the Pakistani military carried out airstrikes on selected areas of Afghanistan, claiming they were targeting militant hideouts. The military action drew angry reactions from several Afghan cricketers on social media, sparking heated exchanges with Pakistani accounts.
Several players from Afghanistan have publicly criticized the Pakistani government on social media, receiving backlash from Pakistani cliques – similar to the charged atmosphere that surrounded Mustafizur’s dismissal from the IPL amid concerns over the safety of minorities in Bangladesh.
CRICKET CAUGHT IN DIPLOMATIC CROSSROADS
That South Asia’s three major cricketing nations have faced politically motivated boycott disputes within weeks underscores a worrying trend: cricket – once hailed as a unifying force in the region – is increasingly falling victim to deteriorating diplomatic relations.
For cricket administrators and cricket fans alike, the question arises more than ever: is this the new normal for cricket, where the political winds dictate who plays and who doesn’t?
– The end
Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
February 12, 2026