Dubai: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has gone ahead and unveiled a franchise-based T20 league, the Afghanistan Premier League (APL). The first season of the tournament’s newly rebirthed format is expected to consist of five teams and will likely be held in the UAE in October 2026.
The APL was launched has been previously introduced by the ACB back in 2018 as a season. That version pulled in the planet’s biggest names – Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Shahid Afridi for starters. But then the league was dissolved once again amid disputes about player payments and suspicions of match-fixing.
The release sent by the ACB says that Draft process for Player selection is anticipated in June/July 2026. According to a press release, the five city-based franchises in the inaugural season will have Afghanistan’s top national players as well as iconic overseas professionals and up-and-coming domestic talent.
Mirwais Ashraf, chairman of the ACB, called the APL a key development for Afghan cricket. “The Afghanistan Premier League is a crucial stage in the development of our players,” he said. “It opens up pathways for our boys, excites the next generation and brings Afghanistan cricket onto a global stage. We think the APL will be an important mechanism in developing and uniting the game both domestically and internationally.”
In a press conference, ACB introduced APL’s official logo as representing ambition and a new beginning for cricket in the nation. The board, partners, players and invited guests exchanged gifts to commemorate the day.
The ACB said the next stage in preparations would be to complete finalisation of franchise names, announcement of commercial partners and to progress with the player auction/draft process. Afghanistan’s current domestic T20 competition, the Shpageeza Cricket League, will continue to be played in Afghanistan, where five teams take part and it is held every July-August.