Irfan Pathan distances himself from Mohammad Amir's selection in Kandahar Warriors squad at Afghanistan Premier League draft
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Irfan Pathan distances himself from Mohammad Amir's selection in Kandahar Warriors squad at Afghanistan Premier League draft originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Former India star Irfan Pathan says he had no part in Kandahar Warriors drafting Mohammad Amir.
- The ex-Pakistan pacer was taken as a Platinum overseas pick for $100,000, entering the APL 2026-27 draft as a British citizen.
- Rashid Khan will captain the Kandahar franchise, with Ravi Bopara as coach, and the APL starting on December 27.
Irfan Pathan distances himself from Mohammad Amir's selection
Kandahar Warriors pulled off one of the more talked-about picks of the Afghanistan Premier League 2026-27 draft on Tuesday when they took former Pakistan pacer, Mohammad Amir.
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The Kandahar franchise is led by Afghanistan star Rashid Khan, while Ravi Bopara is the head coach of the team and Irfan Pathan is their brand ambassador.
Amir's selection became a major talking point, especially due to the presence of Pathan in the team, however, the former India all-rounder distanced himself from draft pick
On Amir being picked by Kandahar, Pathan said, "My work is to be a brand ambassador. My work isn't at the level of drafting players," Pathan told Gulf News. Pathan pointed to captain Rashid Khan and coach Ravi Bopara as the people responsible for squad decisions, adding that he would offer a view if the management asked for one but would not expect to be consulted routinely.
He also suggested Amir requires little from him, being an experienced campaigner rather than one of the younger players in the squad. His focus, he said, would be on supporting emerging Afghan cricketers and making himself available to them.
Amir entered the draft as a British citizen rather than a Pakistan national, a route widely reported as a way around the No-Objection Certificate requirement after the PCB indicated it would not clear its players for the tournament. He was taken in the Platinum overseas category for $100,000, the top bracket, alongside Johnson Charles, Alex Hales, Wanindu Hasaranga and Moeen Ali.
MORE: List of Pakistan stars who have registered for APL
Kandahar Warriors full squad for APL 2026-27
CategoryPlayersPlatinumRashid Khan (local), Mohammad Amir (overseas)DiamondMohammad Nabi, Joe ClarkeGoldKarim Janat, Hassan Eisakhil, Fareed Malik, Kusal Perera, Tymal MillsSilverMohammad Shahzad, Muslim Musa, Dwaine Pretorius, George Munsey, Allah Noor NaseriEmergingNuman Shah Agha, Usman Khan, Naseer MaroofkhilSupplementaryShawkat Zaman, Ibrahim MasoodHow the APL draft worked and who else went big
The draft was held in the UAE on November 3, with each of the five franchises buying 18 players to complete 19-man squads across Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver and Emerging categories. Ninety players were picked in all.
Captains were assigned before the event, though Nangarhar Cosmic and Team Paktia swapped theirs on the day. Rashid leads Kandahar, Azmatullah Omarzai takes Akcel United Kabul, Ibrahim Zadran has Balkh, Rahmat Shah moves to Nangarhar and Rahmanullah Gurbaz to Paktia.
Those five captains were the highest earners at $120,000 each under the Platinum local bracket, with the overseas Platinum picks a tier below at $100,000. The inaugural season begins on December 27.
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The Cricket News Opinion: Pathan's answer says more about the Amir signing than the signing does
Brand ambassadors are not usually asked whether they picked the team, and the question only arose because of who Amir is and how he got into the draft. Pathan, answering it carefully twice, tells you the franchise understood what it was taking on.
There is nothing irregular about the signing itself. Amir holds a British passport, registered as a UK national with Pakistan listed as his country of residence, and the ACB's own paperwork makes every other Pakistan player conditional on a PCB clearance that is not coming. Kandahar found the one Pakistan-born bowler available to them.
What Pathan has done is draw a line between a commercial role and a cricketing one before anyone drew it for him, which is sensible given he is an Indian national fronting an Afghan franchise that has just signed a Pakistani. The cricket is the straightforward part of this.
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