Shankar, Bharat and Ashwin Register for APL Draft

Three former India internationals put their names forward for the Afghanistan Premier League draft in Dubai on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, and all three were left without a team when the selections were done. Vijay Shankar, KS Bharat and Murugan Ashwin had registered for the draft of the relaunched league, but none of them appeared among the 90 players picked across the five franchises.

The three names on the register

Shankar, 35, is the best known of the three. A middle-order batter who bowls useful medium pace, he played 12 one-day internationals and nine T20 internationals for India and was part of the squad at the 2019 World Cup. He stepped away from Indian domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League in May 2026, then signed for Kandy Royals in the Lanka Premier League, and he went into the APL draft in the Platinum category.

Bharat, 33, is a wicketkeeper-batter who played seven Tests for India, the last of them against England at Visakhapatnam in February 2024. He announced his retirement from international cricket in June 2026, and he entered the draft in the Gold category.

Ashwin, 35, is a leg-spinner who played 44 matches in the Indian Premier League, his last appearance coming in 2023. He announced his retirement in October 2026, and like Bharat he was placed in the Gold category for the draft.

A crowded register

The three were part of a very large field. Around 1,500 Afghan and international players registered for the draft, and the organisers cut that list to a 462-member shortlist before the franchises made their picks. Registration alone guaranteed nothing: every name on the list still had to be chosen on the day, and most were not.

The draft was held in Dubai on Tuesday, 3 November, starting at 2:30 PM Dubai time, which is 3:00 PM AFT. Five franchises took part, and by the end of the day they had filled their squads for a tournament that begins on 27 December 2026 in the United Arab Emirates.

What happened on the day

When the selections were announced, Mohammad Amir was the first name called, and 90 players were picked in all. The three Indian players were not among them. The squads announced after the draft confirm the picture: Kandahar Warriors, Akcel United Kabul, Nangarhar Cosmic, Paktia and Balkh Zwanan all filled their places without calling on Shankar, Bharat or Ashwin.

The squads also settled their leadership around the draft. Rahmat Shah captains Nangarhar Cosmic after the captaincy swap on 3 November, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz leads Paktia.

For the three, the outcome is a reminder of how a draft works. A place on the register is only an entry ticket, and with 462 names on the shortlist chasing 90 places, most of the field was always going to go home empty-handed. The registrations had drawn attention because Indian cricketers seldom turn up in overseas franchise drafts, but attention alone does not secure a contract.

Why the registrations stood out

All three had stepped away from Indian cricket during 2026 — Shankar in May, Bharat in June and Ashwin in October — which left them free to look for franchise cricket abroad. The APL, returning after eight years with five franchises and a 27 December start, offered a new stage, and the draft in Dubai was their way in. In the end, though, the franchises looked elsewhere, and the three will watch the first season from outside.

What happens next

The league itself moves on without them. The five squads are set, the tournament starts on 27 December 2026 in the United Arab Emirates, and the build-up now turns to the opening matches. Shankar, Bharat and Ashwin are left to look elsewhere for their next franchise cricket after stepping away from Indian cricket this year.