Justan year ago, Afghanistan became a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and in such a short period of time, they are getting rich dividends for their membership. The Afghanistan Premier League (APL) is the new project of the nation and recently, the league received a major boost as it has been approved by the ICC.
The inaugural edition of the brand new league is expected to take place in the latter half of the current year. With a majority of the present Afghan cricketers all set to take part in the tournament, the league can also be expected to draft some of the star cricketers as well from all over the world in order to make it a glamorous and exciting affair.
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As reported by Ariana News, a release on the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) website confirmed ICC’s approval. According to the release, ICC giving them an approval earlier this week enabled “member boards to issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to players associated with the respective boards”. The tournament is expected to have a whole different format as compared to the Shpageeza League, which is a 12-day tournament played in Afghanistan between six teams.
In contrast, the APL will consist of five teams, namely from Kabul, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Balkh, and Paktia. The glamorous looking tournament is slated to be played between 5 and 21 October at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The bidding process for the ownership of the franchises is going on and is expected to be concluded later this month.
Afghanistan cricket team has been going from strength to strength, especially after receiving full membership with the ICC back in June 2017. The nation played its first ever Test in Bengaluru against India in June this year, where they put up heart-winning performances with the ball. Star Afghan player, Rashid Khan is currently playing in the T20 Blast for Sussex, where his commendable performances are expected to give his team a hefty leverage towards a possible title win.
