Dubai, 3 November 2026: The Afghanistan Premier League (APL) T20 Player Draft 2026 was held in Dubai on Tuesday, with all five franchises completing their squads ahead of the league’s inaugural season, scheduled to begin on 27 December in the United Arab Emirates.
A
total of 90 players were selected from a pool of 462 players across six
categories and 18 rounds. With five Afghan Icon players already assigned to the
franchises, all five teams finalized their 19-member squads.
The
draft brought together some of the biggest names in international cricket alongside
Afghanistan’s established stars and emerging talents, setting the stage for an
exciting inaugural edition of the APL T20.
Platinum
Category
The
Platinum category featured some of the biggest international names in the
draft.
Following
Kandahar Warriors’ selection of Muhammad Amir, Team Balkh picked England
all-rounder Moeen Ali, who will join Afghan Icon Ibrahim Zadran. Nangarhar
Cosmic selected England batter Alex Hales, while Akcel United Kabul brought in
West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Johnson Charles. Team Paktia completed the
category by selecting Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga.
Diamond
Category
The
Diamond category saw several prominent Afghanistan internationals join their
respective franchises.
Kandahar
Warriors selected experienced all-rounder Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil, while Akcel
United Kabul secured the services of left-arm fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Team Balkh picked young spinner AM Ghazanfar, Team Paktia added left-arm
wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad Lakanwal, and Nangarhar Cosmic selected batter Darwish
Rasooli.
In
the second Diamond round, Nangarhar Cosmic made a major overseas signing by
selecting Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan. Team Paktia brought in
Bangladesh fast bowler Nahid Rana, Team Balkh picked England pacer Luke Wood,
Akcel United Kabul secured Sri Lankan fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera, and
Kandahar Warriors completed the category with England wicketkeeper-batter Joe
Clarke.
Gold
Category
The Gold category added further depth and experience to the five squads, featuring a strong combination of Afghan internationals and overseas players.
Akcel
United Kabul opened the category by selecting Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur
Rahman. Team Paktia picked promising batter Ijaz Ahmadzai, Kandahar Warriors
added all-rounder Karim Janat, Nangarhar Cosmic selected Sri Lankan all-rounder
Kamindu Mendis, and Team Balkh brought in Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin
Naib.
The
subsequent Gold rounds saw several notable additions:
- · Team Balkh added Sediqullah Atal and UAE captain Muhammad Waseem.
- · Team Paktia secured New Zealand batter Colin Munro, Namibia all-rounder David Wiese and former Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.
- · Kandahar Warriors selected Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Perera and England fast bowler Tymal Mills.
- · Akcel United Kabul brought in Australian batter D’Arcy Short and Bangladesh batter Shamim Hossain.
- · Team Balkh also used its Wildcard selection in the final Gold round to pick Abdullah Ahmadzai from the Silver category.
Silver
Category
The
Silver category further strengthened the franchises with a blend of experienced
international players and established Afghanistan cricketers.
Nangarhar
Cosmic opened the category by selecting left-arm wrist-spinner Zahir Khan Pakten,
while Akcel United Kabul picked veteran South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir.
Kandahar Warriors added Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Shahzad.
Other
notable selections included Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus and England fast
bowler Olly Stone for Team Paktia; South African all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius
and Scotland batter George Munsey for Kandahar Warriors; Colin Ackermann and
England wicketkeeper-batter Thomas Moores for Team Balkh; and Afghanistan
batter Hazratullah Zazai for Akcel United Kabul.
Emerging
Category
The
Emerging category provided an opportunity for young Afghan talents to become
part of the country’s premier T20 league.
A
total of 15 emerging players were selected across three rounds, with Nangarhar
Cosmic making batter Faisal Khan Shinozada the first pick of the category.
Supplementary
Category
The Supplementary rounds completed the five franchises’ squads. Team Balkh selected Afghanistan leg-spinner Qais Ahmad and fast bowler Christopher Wood, while Akcel United Kabul added Ireland all-rounder Curtis Campher.
Final Squads
All
five franchises completed their 19-member squads following the conclusion of
the draft.
Kandahar
Warriors: Rashid Khan
Arman (Afghan Icon), Muhammad Amir (Platinum), Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil, Joe
Clarke (England) (Diamond), Karim Janat, Hassan Eisakhil, Farid Ahmad Malik,
Kusal Perera (Sri Lanka), Tymal Mills (England) (Gold), Mohammad Shahzad,
Muslim Musa, Dwaine Pretorius (South Africa), George Munsey (Scotland), Allah
Noor Naseri (Silver), Numan Shah Agha, Usman Khan, Naseer Khan Maroofkhil
(Emerging), Shawkat Zaman Momand and Mohammad Ibrahim Masood (Supplementary).
Team
Balkh: Ibrahim Zadran
(Afghan Icon), Moeen Ali (England) (Platinum), Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Luke
Wood (England) (Diamond), Gulbadin Naib, Sediqullah Atal, Muhammad Waseem
(UAE), Afsar Khan Zazai, Abdullah Ahmadzai (Wildcard) (Gold), Thomas Moores
(England), Zia ur Rehman Akbar, Abdullah Tarakhail, Colin Ackermann
(Netherlands), Mohammad Waqar Salamkheil (Silver), Salaam Khan Ahmadzai,
Azizullah Miakhil, Abdul Aziz Khan (Emerging), Qais Ahmad and Christopher Wood
(Supplementary).
Nangarhar
Cosmic: Rahmat Shah
Zurmatai (Afghan Icon), Alex Hales (England) (Platinum), Darwish Rasooli,
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) (Diamond), Kamindu Mendis (Sri Lanka), Ziawrahman
Sharifi, Mohammad Akram Zazai, Ikram Alikhil, Junaid Siddique (UAE) (Gold),
Zahir Khan Pakten, Ismatullah Alam, Mohammad Yamin Ahmadzai, Amir Jangoo (West
Indies), Shafiqullah Ghafari (Silver), Faisal Khan Shinozada, Bahar Ali
Shinwari, Islam Khan Zazai (Emerging), Aftab Alam and Zubairullah Akbari
(Supplementary).
Akcel
United Kabul:
Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghan Icon), Johnson Charles (West Indies) (Platinum),
Fazalhaq Farooqi, Dushmantha Chameera (Sri Lanka) (Diamond), Mujeeb Ur Rahman,
Imran Mir, Sharafuddin Ashraf, D’Arcy Short (Australia), Shamim Hossain
(Bangladesh) (Gold), Imran Tahir (South Africa), Hazratullah Zazai, Dawood
Ahmadzai, Abdul Rahman Rahmani, Mohammad Saleem Safi (Silver), Uzairullah
Niazai, Khalid Ahmadzai, Keramatullah (Emerging), Said Bahir Shah Mahbob and
Curtis Campher (Ireland) (Supplementary).
Team
Paktia: Rahmanullah
Gurbaz (Afghan Icon), Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) (Platinum), Noor Ahmad
Lakanwal, Nahid Rana (Bangladesh) (Diamond), Ijaz Ahmadzai, Farmanullah Safi,
Colin Munro (New Zealand), David Wiese (Namibia), Hashmatullah Shahidi (Gold),
Hasibullah Lakanwal, Nangeyalia Khan, Gerhard Erasmus (Namibia), Olly Stone
(England), Masoodulrahman Gurbaz (Silver), Abid Mohammadi, Khalid Taniwal,
Wahidullah Zadran (Emerging), Sediqullah Pacha and Khalil Ahmad Gurbaz
(Supplementary).
With
the completion of the Player Draft, the five franchises have now assembled
their squads for the historic inaugural season of the Afghanistan Premier
League T20. The competition is set to bring together leading international
stars and Afghanistan’s finest cricketing talent, promising an exciting new
chapter for the country’s cricket.
The countdown to APL T20 begins!
-ENDS-
For
further information, please contact:
Commercial
Department
Afghanistan
Cricket Board (ACB)
Email:
Marketing@Afghancricket.af
Website:
www.acb.af