Afghanistan Premier League to begin in October 2018

T20s have become the order of the day. Just when the world felt that there were too many domestic T20 leagues around the world, another one is added to the list. After IPL, BPL, CPL, PSL and BBL, its now time for APL i.e. Afghanistan Premier League. The country is set to have a T20 league of its own.

The cricket calendar is becoming more and more hectic day by day. With the presence of so many leagues and international commitments, a player hardly gets time-off. Playing franchise cricket is considered to be the new rest. The first edition of APL is set to be held in October 2018 after the MoU was signed on Thursday.

Another month blocked

”There will be a total of 23 matches between five teams,” ACB chief executive Shafiq Stanikzai was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “The league will take place in the UAE, but we haven’t yet decided on which cities will play host to the league. But now we have got official approval from the Emirates Cricket Board, and we’d like to thank them for that.” The league will follow a similar structure like that of other popular leagues.

There will be an auction held to purchase the five teams after which the Player auctions will be held. For a domestic league to flourish, the international players must participate. As many as 40 international players have already expressed their desire to feature in the APL. This will make the APL the biggest league in Afghanistan followed by the Shpageeza Cricket League.

June and October are usually the only months when T20 cricket takes a backseat. This is the reason as to why the October window was chosen for APL so that it doesn’t clash with other leagues. A clash in the tournament will affect a players’ commitment towards a league and a franchise. The Afghanistan Cricket Board(ACB) hopes to make APL one of the top three leagues in the world. It has a long way to go as the tournament is still in the development stage.