Afghanistan Premier League: A New Era for Afghan Cricket

Afghanistan’s cricketers have spent the last decade lighting up the world’s biggest T20 stages — from the IPL and BBL to the PSL, CPL, SA20 and ILT20. Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and company have become travelling specialists, hired guns for every league that matters.

Now, at last, the league comes to them.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is set to relaunch its own T20 showpiece at the end of the year, with a full-fledged franchise model and a clear ambition: build an Afghan version of the IPL, with Afghan players at its heart. The first ball of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) is scheduled for 27 December, with the inaugural edition to be staged in the UAE.

It is a pragmatic choice. The ACB has confirmed the tournament will be played at ICC-approved venues in the United Arab Emirates, but has deliberately left the door open to move the league in future editions. The APL is being built to travel if needed.

Big backers, bold identities

Three franchise owners are already locked in, and the mix tells its own story about where Afghan cricket now sits in the global game.

Two of the teams have Indian-origin owners. Amit Kaushal, founder and chairman of AKCEL Group, has taken charge of the Kabul franchise, branded Akcel United Kabul. Dubai-based business group Bullfrog — fronted by Pankaj Chadha and Ashish Mehta, who already run the Pokhara Avengers in the Nepal Premier League — have bought the Kandahar team, the Kandahar Warriors.

The third confirmed owner brings the story back to its roots. Afghan-American entrepreneur Shakaib Rahimi, a long-time supporter of the national game, has secured the Balakh franchise, Balakh Zwanan. Between them, these three brands give the league its first shape: Kabul, Kandahar and Balakh on the map, with two more cities to follow.

Talks are ongoing for the remaining two franchises, with the ACB in discussions with billionaire business magnates from the United States and several Indian corporates. The plan is clear: start with five teams in December, but build with heavyweight investors who see this as a long-term play, not a passing experiment.

A decade-long project, not a pop-up league

To run and promote the APL, the ACB has handed league rights to Cricket Ventures LLC-FZ, a UAE-based company that operates in joint venture with the MENA subsidiary of ITW Universe. That partnership is tasked with doing more than just staging a tournament.

“When we signed the long-term partnership with the ACB, the brief was simple and ambitious: rebuild the APL as a professionally run, internationally visible T20 property that develops Afghan talent and gives investors a decade-long runway,” said Bhairav Shanth, Co Founder, ITW Universe.

The intent is unmistakable. This is not a one-season splash; it is a bid to carve out a permanent slot on the crowded T20 calendar and turn Afghan cricket’s global reputation into a sustainable domestic asset.

This week’s launch in Dubai underlined that ambition. The first three franchises were unveiled alongside their identities and the Koh-E-Zafar trophy — a piece of silverware designed with a mountain motif that mirrors Afghanistan’s own ascent from cricketing obscurity to World Cup relevance.

“The trophy’s mountain motif is not decoration; it is the right metaphor for a cricket nation that has climbed through extraordinary circumstances,” Shanth said, tying the league’s branding directly to the country’s sporting journey.

Countdown to first ball

Now comes the hard part.

“What matters now is execution. Player registration opens 30 August. The inaugural draft is 27 September. The first ball is scheduled for 27 December,” Shanth outlined, setting a tight, unforgiving timeline.

Between those dates, the league’s operators must finalise the remaining franchises, secure commercial partners, lock in broadcast arrangements and build a fan experience that can stand alongside other Afghanistan-linked properties already on the market. The bar, internally at least, has been set high.

“Leagues succeed when owners see a real asset, players see a real pathway, and brands see a clean, high-attention platform. That is the standard we are holding the APL to.”

For Afghanistan’s players, the implications are obvious. Instead of only being export stars, they finally get a flagship league of their own — a platform that can shape careers at home, not just abroad.

The world has already seen what Afghan cricketers can do in everyone else’s leagues. December will show whether Afghanistan can now build a league that truly belongs to them.