Afghanistan Premier League Launching December 2023

Afghanistan’s cricketers have spent the past decade lighting up the world’s biggest T20 stages. IPL, CPL, PSL, BBL, SA20, ILT20 — their stars have been everywhere but home. Now, at last, the game is coming back to them in a form they can call their own.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) will launch the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) at the end of the year, with the first ball scheduled for December 27. It will look and feel like their version of the IPL: franchise-driven, commercially ambitious, and built to showcase Afghan talent on a global broadcast stage.

There is a twist. The inaugural edition will not be played in Afghanistan.

A home league, abroad

Security, logistics and infrastructure realities mean the first APL season will be staged in the United Arab Emirates, at ICC-approved venues. The ACB has deliberately left the door open for change, stating that future editions “may be hosted at alternative venues outside of the UAE,” keeping the geography of the league flexible as circumstances evolve.

For now, the UAE becomes the launchpad for a project the ACB hopes will stand for a decade and beyond.

The APL will start with five franchises. Three are already locked in, and their ownership tells its own story about who believes in Afghan cricket.

Indian money, Afghan dreams

Two of the first three teams have Indian-origin owners, underlining how deeply the subcontinental market is invested in T20 cricket.

Amit Kaushal, founder and chairman of AKCEL Group, has taken charge of the Kabul franchise, branded Akcel United Kabul. The Kandahar team, Kandahar Warriors, has been bought by Pankaj Chadha and Ashish Mehta of Bullfrog, a Dubai-based business group already active in the region’s franchise scene through their ownership of Pokhara Avengers in the Nepal Premier League.

The third confirmed franchise is Balakh Zwanan, owned by Afghan-American entrepreneur Shakaib Rahimi, a long-time backer of Afghan cricket. His involvement gives the league a powerful link to the Afghan diaspora, a community that has followed the national team’s rise with fierce pride.

Two more franchises are still on the table. The ACB is in discussions with billionaire business magnates from the United States and a group of Indian corporates, looking to complete a five-team roster before the draft.

Building a ‘living league’

To turn the APL from concept to competition, 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.

Bhairav Shanth, Co Founder of ITW Universe, set out the brief in blunt terms: build a serious, modern T20 property.

“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,” he said.

“This week’s announcements in Dubai — the first three franchises, their identities, and the Koh-E-Zafar trophy — turn that brief into a living league. The trophy’s mountain motif is not decoration; it is the right metaphor for a cricket nation that has climbed through extraordinary circumstances.”

The symbolism is hard to miss. Afghanistan’s rise from refugee camps and dusty outfields to World Cup wins and global stars has been one of cricket’s most remarkable stories. The Koh-E-Zafar trophy, with its mountain design, leans directly into that narrative: a team and a country still climbing.

Countdown to first ball

Now comes the hard part.

“What matters now is execution,” Shanth said. “Player registration opens 30 August. The inaugural draft is 27 September. The first ball is scheduled for 27 December. Between those dates we have to lock remaining franchises, commercial partners, broadcast quality and a fan experience that matches the standard we are already applying to other Afghanistan-linked properties.

“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.”

The timeline is tight. In less than four months, the APL must complete its ownership roster, sign commercial deals, secure broadcasters and stitch together a product that can stand alongside established T20 leagues rather than sit in their shadow.

But the raw material is there: a fan base that travels, a national team that commands respect, and a player pool that has already proved itself in the world’s toughest T20 environments.

Afghan cricketers have long been guests in other people’s leagues. By the end of December, they will finally walk out under their own banner, chasing a trophy shaped like the mountains they climbed to get here.