Afghanistan Premier League To Be Held In October 2018

Afghanistan is set to become the latest entrant in the club of countries to have their own T20 competition with its cricket board announcing the launch of the Afghanistan Premier League on Thursday (January 11). The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Kabul and the first edition of the tournament is set to get underway in October 2018.

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Shafiq Stanikzai, Afghanistan Cricket Board chief executive, stated the league will see five teams fighting it out for the title. The tournament will have 23 matches in total.

“There will be a total of 23 matches between five teams,” Stanikzai told ESPNcricinfo. “The league will take place in the UAE, but we haven’t yet decided on which cities will play host to the league. But now we have got official approval from the Emirates Cricket Board, and we’d like to thank them for that.”

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Stanikzai further said that an auction to purchase the five teams would be held in March which will be followed by a player draft. Approximately 40 overseas cricketers have already expressed their desire of playing in the league.

“The APL T20 will be played on a broader scale, both financially and coverage wise,” Stanikzai said. “Our strategic objective is to bring this league into the top three T20 leagues in the world.”

Meanwhile, the decision to host the league in October looks a good one as no other country hosts any T20 tournament at that time.

ACB chairman Atif Mashal is hopeful that the league will give the Afghanistan players an opportunity to share the stage with the big names.

“The Afghanistan T20 Premier league will provide a valuable opportunity for Afghan players to play alongside major names in international cricket,” he said.

The tournament will be held in the United Arabia Emirates which has also hosted the first two seasons of the Pakistan Super League and will once again stage the upcoming third season of the tournament, scheduled to start next month.

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