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Ahead of the player and coach draft for the Afghanistan Premier League (APL T20), former India National Cricket Team all-rounder Irfan Pathan has joined Kandahar Warriors, one of the teams in the league. The former cricketer has joined the franchise as their Ambassador.
Afghanistan Premier League, through its official social media account, informed this through a social media post on Saturday, October 24.
New role for Irfan Pathan in the Afghanistan Premier League
After the collapse of the previous T20 league of Afghanistan, the nation has reshaped its franchise league. The league is expected to attract serious investment from some of the top investors across the globe. Ahead of some other big announcements, the appointment of Irfan Pathan as the Ambassador of Kandahar Warriors came as a significant move.
A dynamic all-rounder with a legacy of match-winning performances 🌟 The legendary Irfan Pathan joins Kandahar Warriors as their Ambassador! 💪 #APLT20 https://t.co/t0T3by6lV4
— Afghanistan Premier League (@theaplt20) October 24, 2026
In December 2025, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced the relaunch of its own franchise league. During the last week of August this year, the cricket board unveiled their trophy and introduced the teams like Axcel United Kabul, Balkh Zwanan and Kandahar Warriors.
ACB to make more major announcments
After the final draft for the players and coaches, the auction for the players is expected to be held in the early part of November, and the tournament could start in December this year. However, more announcements regarding the franchise league, like the fixtures, venues, and formation of the squads, are yet to be revealed.
It was previously reported that the competition is likely to be around five franchises. Names of the three teams have already been confirmed, leaving the announcement of the remaining two teams for the future. As per the previously published updates, the organisers of the Afghanistan Premier League have been trying to bring some big names on board as investors.
While the league made a fresh appointment of Irfan Pathan in public, the format Team India cricketer shared multiple social media posts during the India vs New Zealand 2nd T20I match. After losing the entire top order and half of the middle order, the Shreyas Iyer-led side got a stunning win today in Christchurch.
Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Naman Dhir appeared as the saviors in the match for the Men in Blue. Varma was named as the Player of the Match for his match-defining, unbeaten fifty-plus run knock.
Irfan Pathan praises Tilak Varma to confirm win for India vs New Zealand
Irfan Pathan, through his 'X' post, praised Tilak Varma for his exceptional batting skills. Pathan pointed out that the versatility of Tilak Varma is admirable, and the win India claimed today against New Zealand was because of the batter's ability to bat from any position in the batting order, even with immense responsibility on his shoulders.
"The versatility of Tilak Varma is Admirable. This win came on the back of his sheer ability to bat anywhere, and to be able to deliver under pressure puts him in a different league," Irfan Pathan wrote in his 'X' post.
The former cricketer also praised Nitish Kumar Reddy in a different post.
