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Afghanistan Cricket over the years have gained some immense popularity in India and also across various parts of the world. The Afghans are one of the most improved sides in world cricket in the white-ball format; they have showcased an amazing brand of cricket in the ODI and T20I formats. Now they are set for new heights as they are set to launch a league.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) have decided to launch the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) on December 27, 2026, in the UAE with 5 franchises. They are introducing a competition built around one of the sport's most passionate fan bases, and also a step towards bringing in a lot of young players and developing them for international cricket.
Afghanistan set to launch new league with five franchise
The tournament will include five franchises from Afghanistan's major cricketing regions: Kabul, Kandahar, Balkh, Paktia, and Nangarhar. The Afghanistan Cricket Board has asked investors, sports entrepreneurs, and commercial partners from around the world to participate in the franchise ownership process, with proposals due on June 30, 2026. This is a huge step towards franchise cricket as it gets further expanded across the globe.
As ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf stated, "The Afghanistan Premier League is a strategic step forward for Afghan cricket. Through the APL, we aim to establish a sustainable and globally recognized cricket property that showcases Afghan talent, attracts international investment, and contributes to the long-term growth of the game."
ACB partners with ITW
"The inaugural season will feature five city-based franchises, bringing together Afghanistan's leading national players alongside prominent overseas professionals and emerging local talent," ACB previously stated in a press release. The ACB collaborated with Cricket Venture, a Trans Group and ITW Universe joint venture, to organise the competition.
"Following the launch, organisers will move into the next phase, which includes finalising franchise identities, confirming commercial partners, and progressing the player auction or draft process," the release said. However, they did not confirm the date last year, and now, as per reports from CricTracker, they have released the date.
Why did APL stop?
Previously, ACB announced an APL in early 2018, with only one season played that year, with five teams. Players like Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Shahid Afridi, and others competed in that edition. However, it had to be cancelled after payment problems and suspicions about the league's authenticity appeared.
However, this time it is a good opportunity with better planning and structure from the Afghan Cricket Board, as they have developed a commercial model focused on sustainability, operational efficiency, and investor returns.
APL to gain more audience from the UAE
Another thing is that organising the tournament in UAE it will give benefits such as world-class stadiums, international broadcast infrastructure, premium productions, and access to a large regional cricket audience.
The names of the teams will be finalised once the ACB finds the investors, but despite this league, Afghans will continue to play their domestic T20 league, which is the Shpageeza Cricket League, between five domestic teams in the July-August period. As of now, the Afghan Men's side are on a tour to India where they have concluded a one-off Test and will be entering the three-match ODI series from Saturday.
