While Akram declined his role, other former Pakistan internationals have taken up positions within the league. Azhar Mahmood has been appointed as the head coach of Team Paktia, while Waqar Younis has joined the same franchise as its official ambassador.

The Afghanistan Premier League held its players' draft on Tuesday, which saw significant interest from Pakistani cricketers. More than 30 players, including Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, and Shan Masood, had registered their names for consideration.

Despite the high number of registrations, no Pakistani players were selected during the draft process. This outcome occurred amidst ongoing uncertainty regarding the availability of players due to the Pakistan Cricket Board's policy on the league.

Mohammad Amir, who recently acquired British citizenship and resides in England, was the notable exception. He was signed by the Kandahar Warriors in the platinum category after registering for the draft as a British national.

The Kandahar Warriors selected Amir with their first pick of the draft, choosing him ahead of veteran Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi. Amir's participation is facilitated by his status as a British citizen rather than a Pakistan-based player.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has maintained a strict position regarding the tournament, with reports indicating that the board is unlikely to grant the necessary No-Objection Certificates to Pakistani cricketers to participate in the competition.

The draft featured several established international names alongside Amir, including England's Moeen Ali and Alex Hales, West Indies batter Johnson Charles, Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. Afghanistan internationals Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmat Shah and Ibrahim Zadran were confirmed as captains for the five competing franchises ahead of the selection process.

A last-minute leadership adjustment preceded the draft, with Gurbaz taking charge of Team Paktia and Rahmat Shah moving to lead the Nangarhar Kazmics. The Afghanistan Cricket Board revealed that approximately 1,500 domestic and international players initially registered for the competition before the talent pool was reduced to 462 eligible cricketers for the draft.

Players were categorised into five distinct tiers comprising Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver and Emerging for the franchise selection proceedings. Under tournament squad regulations, each franchise is permitted to register up to 19 active players, with the main draft determining 17 squad positions and a supplementary round covering the remainder.

Franchise recruitment rules mandate that every team must include at least 12 Afghan or local players while capping overseas representation at a maximum of seven. Teams are required to feature a minimum of six foreign cricketers and must field between three and four overseas players in their starting eleven.

Playing XIs are strictly required to contain at least seven Afghan or local cricketers, which must incorporate a minimum of one player from the Emerging category. The combined player salary budget for each franchise has been fixed at $0.7million to maintain financial balance across the competing teams.

The tournament marks a return for the franchise competition after its troubled inaugural season in 2018, which featured high-profile international stars such as Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Shahid Afridi. That initial edition failed to establish itself as a regular fixture on the global cricket calendar due to payment-related disputes and transparency concerns.

Meanwhile, the league's relaunch has generated debate within English cricket regarding international participation, with England batter Ollie Pope withdrawing from the draft following consultations with the England and Wales Cricket Board. The ECB has avoided arranging bilateral series against Afghanistan since 2021, and its leadership has previously expressed concerns regarding governance and social conditions under Taliban rule.