Pope pulls out of controversial Afghanistan T20 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.