Afghanistan Premier League Returns After 8 Years, Set for UAE Comeback in December 2026

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced the return of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL). The tournament's second edition will be held in the UAE in December 2026, making its comeback after an eight-year gap. The league was last played in 2018 and will now return to the franchise cricket calendar. The UAE also hosted the inaugural Afghanistan Premier League, way back in 2018 with five franchises competing for the elusive title.

The five franchises, representing some of Afghanistan’s major cricketing regions, will all be returning for the upcoming second edition. The ACB is re-introducing the Afghanistan Premier League to the world, at a time when franchise T20 leagues are expanding across the cricketing calendar. The upcoming second edition of the tournament will be hosted by the UAE later this year, starting from December 27 onwards. 

Five teams will compete in the Afghanistan Premier League (APL), with each team representing a major cricketing region of Afghanistan. The five regions are Kabul, Kandahar, Balkh, Paktia, and Nangarhar. These same five teams also participated in the first edition of the tournament in October 2018. The ACB has now sent out official invitations to potential investors, sports entrepreneurs and commercial partners from around the world to participate in the franchise ownership process. As per the official announcement, the proposals are due by June 30. 

Afghanistan Premier League Returns After 8 Years, Set for UAE Comeback in December 2026

The first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League was held in the UAE in October 2018. Mohammad Nabi led Balkh Legends to the title, defeating Rashid Khan's Kabul Zwanan in the final. Chris Gayle struck 56 off just 34 balls in the title clash for the Balkh Legends, while Qais Ahmad won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his match-winning five-wicket haul. 

Kabul captain Rashid Khan was named Player of the Tournament in the 2018 Afghanistan Premier League. He impressed with both bat and ball, taking 10 wickets in nine innings and scoring 173 runs in eight innings at an average of 34.60 and a strike rate of nearly 200. Notably, the inaugural Afghanistan Premier League attracted several overseas stars like Chris Gayle, Ravi Bopara, Colin Munro, Wayne Parnell, Sohail Tanvir, Luke Ronchi, Brendon McCullum, Paul Stirling, Andre Russell, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Hafeez, Mushfiqur Rahim, Sikandar Raza, Shahid Afridi among others.