2018 Afghanistan Premier League

First season of the Afghanistan Premier League From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2018 Afghanistan Premier League (also known as APL 2018 or Gulbahar APL T20 2018 for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the inaugural and only edition of the Afghanistan Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).[2] The tournament took place from 5 to 21 October 2018 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.[3]

Dates5 October – 21 October
AdministratorAfghanistan Cricket Board (ACB)
Cricket formatTwenty20
Tournament format(s)Double round-robin and Playoffs
Quick facts Dates, Administrator ...
2018 Afghanistan Premier League
Tournament logo
Official logo of 2018 APL
Dates5 October – 21 October
AdministratorAfghanistan Cricket Board (ACB)
Cricket formatTwenty20
Tournament format(s)Double round-robin and Playoffs
HostUnited Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
ChampionsBalkh Legends (1st title)
Runners-upKabul Zwanan
Participants5
Matches23
Player of the seriesRashid Khan (Kabul Zwanan)
Most runsMohammad Shahzad (344)
Most wicketsIsuru Udana (17)
2026 →
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Balkh Legends defeated Kabul Zwanan by 4 wickets in the final to become the inaugural champions.[4] Rashid Khan was named the Player of the Tournament.[5]

Background

The tournament was established by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in 2018. In August 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) approved plans for the tournament.[2] Due to security concerns in Afghanistan, the ACB decided to host the inaugural edition in the United Arab Emirates. The Sharjah Cricket Stadium was selected as the sole venue for the matches.[3]

The Gulbahar Group was confirmed as the title sponsor, leading the league to be officially named the Gulbahar Afghanistan Premier League.[1]

Controversy and Anti-Corruption

The 2018 season was investigated by the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU). Afghan player Shafiqullah Shafaq was subsequently handed a six-year ban after admitting to match-fixing charges during the 2018 APL.[6] Additionally, icon player Mohammad Shahzad reported a spot-fixing approach to the ACU during the tournament's league phase.[7]

Auctions and personnel signings

The player draft for the inaugural season was held on 10 September 2018 in Dubai.[8] Over 350 players from across the globe were included in the draft pool.[9]

The franchises operated with a salary cap between US$555,000 and US$700,000 to secure a squad of 17 to 20 players.[10] Players were categorized into five tiers: Icon, Diamond, Gold, Silver, and Emerging.[11]

Salary brackets

  • Icon Players: US$100,000
  • Diamond: US$75,000 (Overseas) / US$60,000 (Local)
  • Gold: US$50,000 (Overseas) / US$40,000 (Local)
  • Silver: US$30,000 (Overseas) / US$20,000 (Local)
  • ICC Associate: US$15,000
  • Emerging: US$10,000

Marquee signings

Five "Icon Players" were selected by the franchises during the draft:

Player participation

The league involved up to forty overseas players, though several boards denied permissions.[12] The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced it would not issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to active Pakistani players for the tournament.[13] Similarly, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) denied NOCs to players like Soumya Sarkar, preventing them from joining their respective franchises.[14]

Squads

The following squads were finalized on 10th September 2018.[15][8]

More information Balkh Legends, Kabul Zwanan ...
Balkh Legends Kabul Zwanan Kandahar Knights Nangarhar Leopards Paktia Panthers
Head Coach
Australia Simon Helmot Zimbabwe Heath Streak England Kabir Ali India Venkatesh Prasad Afghanistan Dawlat Ahmadzai
Squad
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Venue

All matches were held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.[3]

More information Sharjah, UAE ...
Sharjah, UAE
Cricket Venue of APL in Emirate of Sharjah
Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Capacity: 16,000
Matches: 19
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Points table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR Qualification
1   Balkh Legends (C) 8 6 2 0 12 0.782 Advance to Semifinal 1
2   Paktia Panthers 8 5 3 0 10 0.144
3   Kabul Zwanan (R) 8 4 4 0 8 −0.070 Advance to Semifinal 2
4   Nangarhar Leopards 8 3 5 0 6 −0.582
5   Kandahar Knights 8 2 6 0 4 −0.226 Eliminated
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Source: ESPNcricinfo
(C) Champions; (R) Runners-up

League stage

All times are in Afghanistan Standard Time (UTC+04:30).

The fixture was released in September 2018.[16]

Match 1
5 October 2018
20:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Paktia Panthers
218/4 (20 overs)
v
Kabul Zwanan
220/7 (19.1 overs)
Sikandar Raza 78* (40)
Zahir Shehzad 2/36 (4 overs)
Laurie Evans 79* (39)
Tahir Khan 2/20 (2 overs)
Kabul Zwanan won by 3 wickets
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Izatullah Safi (Afg) and Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg)
Player of the match: Laurie Evans (Kabul Zwanan)
  • Kabul Zwanan won the toss and elected to field.
  • Zahir Shehzad (Kabul Zwanan) made his T20 debut.
Match 2
6 October 2018
16:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Kandahar Knights
139/9 (20 overs)
v
Nangarhar Leopards
142/4 (18.3 overs)
Karim Janat 39 (39)
Ben Cutting 5/28 (4 overs)
Shafiqullah 35* (20)
Karim Sadiq 1/5 (1 over)
Nangarhar Leopards won by 6 wickets
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Farooq Khan (Afg) and Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg)
Player of the match: Ben Cutting (Nangarhar Leopards)
Match 3
6 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Kabul Zwanan
176/6 (20 overs)
v
Balkh Legends
177/2 (18.5 overs)
Laurie Evans 64 (47)
Mohammad Nabi 2/20 (4 overs)
Ryan ten Doeschate 78* (46)
Rashid Khan 1/24 (4 overs)
Balkh Legends won by 8 wickets
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Izatullah Safi (Afg) and Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg)
Player of the match: Ryan ten Doeschate (Balkh Legends)
  • Balkh Legends won the toss and elected to field.
Match 4
7 October 2018
16:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Paktia Panthers
184/8 (20 overs)
v
Nangarhar Leopards
163/6 (20 overs)
Mohammad Shahzad 53 (21)
Ben Cutting 3/25 (4 overs)
Ben Cutting 71 (39)
Isuru Udana 2/28 (4 overs)
Paktia Panthers won by 21 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Farooq Khan (Afg) and Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg)
Player of the match: Ben Cutting (Nangarhar Leopards)
  • Paktia Panthers won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Azmatullah Omarzai (Paktia Panthers) made his T20 debut.
Match 5
7 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Balkh Legends
165/5 (20 overs)
v
Kandahar Knights
152/7 (20 overs)
Colin Munro 46 (24)
Karim Janat 1/19 (3 overs)
Asghar Afghan 45 (32)
Gulbadin Naib 4/12 (4 overs)
Balkh Legends won by 13 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg) and Izatullah Safi (Afg)
Player of the match: Gulbadin Naib (Balkh Legends)
  • Kandahar Knights won the toss and elected to field.
Match 6
9 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Nangarhar Leopards
188/5 (20 overs)
v
Kabul Zwanan
191/3 (17.5 overs)
Anton Devcich 94* (58)
Shahidullah 1/10 (1 over)
Hazratullah Zazai 124 (55)
Zahir Khan 1/20 (3.5 overs)
Kabul Zwanan won by 7 wickets
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg)
Player of the match: Hazratullah Zazai (Kabul Zwanan)
  • Kabul Zwanan won the toss and elected to field.
Match 7
10 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Paktia Panthers
204/4 (20 overs)
v
Balkh Legends
167 (19 overs)
Cameron Delport 70* (48)
Gulbadin Naib 2/46 (4 overs)
Mohammad Nabi 40 (15)
Isuru Udana 4/38 (4 overs)
Paktia Panthers won by 37 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg)
Player of the match: Cameron Delport (Paktia Panthers)
  • Balkh Legends won the toss and elected to field.
  • Ziaur Rahman (Paktia Panthers) made his T20 debut.
Match 8
11 October 2018
16:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Kabul Zwanan
173/6 (20 overs)
v
Kandahar Knights
171/7 (20 overs)
Laurie Evans 57* (29)
Sayed Shirzad 3/36 (4 overs)
Asghar Afghan 52 (32)
Shahidullah 2/18 (4 overs)
Kabul Zwanan won by 2 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Ahmed Shah Durrani (Afg) and Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg)
Player of the match: Shahidullah (Kabul Zwanan)
  • Kandahar Knights won the toss and elected to field.
Match 9
11 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Balkh Legends
143/7 (20 overs)
v
Nangarhar Leopards
118 (19.1 overs)
Ryan ten Doeschate 35 (27)
Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/19 (4 overs)
Anton Devcich 48 (44)
Mirwais Ashraf 4/19 (4 overs)
Balkh Legends won by 25 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg)
Player of the match: Mirwais Ashraf (Balkh Legends)
  • Nangarhar Leopards won the toss and elected to field.
Match 10
12 October 2018
16:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Paktia Panthers
127 (18.2 overs)
v
Kandahar Knights
118 (19.4 overs)
Sikandar Raza 51 (42)
Sayed Shirzad 4/19 (3.2 overs)
Karim Janat 27 (23)
Isuru Udana 3/19 (4 overs)
Paktia Panthers won by 9 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg)
Player of the match: Isuru Udana (Paktia Panthers)
  • Paktia Panthers won the toss and elected to bat.
Match 11
12 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Nangarhar Leopards
182/5 (20 overs)
v
Kabul Zwanan
167/9 (20 overs)
Anton Devcich 77 (46)
Wayne Parnell 2/47 (4 overs)
Luke Ronchi 50 (31)
Rahmat Shah 3/25 (4 overs)
Nangarhar Leopards won by 15 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Izatullah Safi (Afg)
Player of the match: Rahmat Shah (Nangarhar Leopards)
  • Kabul Zwanan won the toss and elected to field.
Match 12
13 October 2018
16:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Balkh Legends
195/4 (20 overs)
v
Paktia Panthers
106 (15.2 overs)
Ryan ten Doeschate 74* (41)
Sikandar Raza 1/12 (2 overs)
Rahmanullah Gurbaz 33 (22)
Ravi Bopara 3/17 (3 overs)
Balkh Legends won by 89 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg) and Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg)
Player of the match: Ryan ten Doeschate (Balkh Legends)
  • Balkh Legends won the toss and elected to bat.
Match 13
13 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Kandahar Knights
136/8 (20 overs)
v
Nangarhar Leopards
110 (19.3 overs)
Karim Janat 40* (21)
Mujeeb Ur Rahman 4/16 (4 overs)
Shafiqullah 23 (9)
Waqar Salamkheil 3/20 (4 overs)
Kandahar Knights won by 26 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Ahmed Shah Durrani (Afg)
Player of the match: Karim Janat (Kandahar Knights)
  • Kandahar Knights won the toss and elected to bat.
Match 14
14 October 2018
16:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Balkh Legends
244/6 (20 overs)
v
Kabul Zwanan
223/7 (20 overs)
Chris Gayle 80 (48)
Fareed Ahmad 2/48 (3 overs)
Hazratullah Zazai 62 (17)
Ben Laughlin 3/37 (3 overs)
Balkh Legends won by 21 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg)
Player of the match: Chris Gayle (Balkh Legends)
  • Balkh Legends won the toss and elected to bat.
Match 15
14 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Nangarhar Leopards
126 (20 overs)
v
Paktia Panthers
129/3 (14.4 overs)
Rahmat Shah 32 (38)
Ziaur Rahman 3/27 (4 overs)
Mohammad Shahzad 78* (43)
Sandeep Lamichhane 2/23 (4 overs)
Paktia Panthers won by 7 wickets
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg)
Player of the match: Mohammad Shahzad (Paktia Panthers)
  • Nangarhar Leopards won the toss and elected to bat.
Match 16
16 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Kandahar Knights
152/5 (20 overs)
v
Kabul Zwanan
153/6 (19.1 overs)
Asghar Afghan 60 (31)
Fareed Ahmad 2/40 (4 overs)
Laurie Evans 32* (31)
Karim Janat 3/14 (4 overs)
Kabul Zwanan won by 4 wickets
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg)
Player of the match: Rashid Khan (Kabul Zwanan)
  • Kabul Zwanan won the toss and elected to field.
Match 17
17 October 2018
16:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Balkh Legends
133/7 (20 overs)
v
Nangarhar Leopards
134/4 (18 overs)
Ravi Bopara 35 (32)
Naveen-ul-Haq 2/21 (4 overs)
Andre Fletcher 48 (22)
Qais Ahmad 3/19 (4 overs)
Nangarhar Leopards won by 6 wickets
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg) and Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg)
Player of the match: Andre Fletcher (Nangarhar Leopards)
  • Balkh Legends won the toss and elected to bat.
Match 18
17 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Paktia Panthers
167/7 (20 overs)
v
Kandahar Knights
168/6 (20 overs)
Samiullah Shinwari 65 (43)
Sayed Shirzad 3/36 (4 overs)
Asghar Afghan 74 (42)
Ziaur Rahman 3/40 (4 overs)
Kandahar Knights won by 4 wickets
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Izatullah Safi (Afg)
Player of the match: Asghar Afghan (Kandahar Knights)
  • Paktia Panthers won the toss and elected to bat.
Match 19
18 October 2018
16:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Kandahar Knights
141/9 (20 overs)
v
Balkh Legends
142/4 (17.5 overs)
Brendon McCullum 50 (33)
Mirwais Ashraf 3/24 (4 overs)
Chris Gayle 73 (22)
Waqar Salamkheil 2/21 (4 overs)
Balkh Legends won by 6 wickets
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Ahmed Shah Durrani (Afg) and Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg)
Player of the match: Chris Gayle (Balkh Legends)
  • Balkh Legends won the toss and elected to field.
  • Samiullah (Balkh Legends) made his T20 debut.
Match 20
18 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Kabul Zwanan
168/4 (20 overs)
v
Paktia Panthers
172/4 (19.4 overs)
Colin Ingram 83* (51)
Isuru Udana 2/33 (4 overs)
Mohammad Shahzad 62 (27)
Wayne Parnell 2/33 (3.4 overs)
Paktia Panthers won by 6 wickets
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg)
Player of the match: Mohammad Shahzad (Paktia Panthers)
  • Kabul Zwanan won the toss and elected to bat.
  • Usman Adil (Kabul Zwanan) made his T20 debut.

Knockout stage

All times are in Afghanistan Standard Time (UTC+04:30).

Bracket

Semifinals Final
      
1   Balkh Legends 235/5 (20 overs)
4   Nangarhar Leopards 64 (13.1 overs)
SF1W   Balkh Legends 138/6 (18.1 overs)
SF2W   Kabul Zwanan 132/9 (20 overs)
2   Paktia Panthers 102 (14.5 overs)
3   Kabul Zwanan 192/9 (20 overs)

Semifinals

Semifinal 1

Semifinal 1
19 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Balkh Legends
235/5 (20 overs)
v
Nangarhar Leopards
64 (13.1 overs)
Darwish Rasooli 78 (45)
Ben Cutting 2/38 (4 overs)
Andre Fletcher 13 (13)
Mohammad Nabi 4/12 (3.1 overs)
Balkh Legends won by 171 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg)
Player of the match: Mohammad Nabi (Balkh Legends)
  • Balkh Legends won the toss and elected to bat.

Semifinal 2

Semifinal 2
20 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Kabul Zwanan
192/9 (20 overs)
v
Paktia Panthers
102 (14.5 overs)
Colin Ingram 44 (27)
Shahid Afridi 2/25 (4 overs)
Shahid Afridi 27 (16)
Rashid Khan 4/20 (3.5 overs)
Kabul Zwanan won by 90 runs
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Bismillah Jan Shinwari (Afg)
Player of the match: Rashid Khan (Kabul Zwanan)
  • Kabul Zwanan won the toss and elected to bat.

Final

Final[17]
21 October 2018
20:00 (D/N)
Scorecard
Kabul Zwanan
132/9 (20 overs)
v
Balkh Legends
138/6 (18.1 overs)
Javed Ahmadi 32 (19)
Qais Ahmad 5/18 (4 overs)
Chris Gayle 56 (34)
Wayne Parnell 3/35 (4 overs)
Balkh Legends won by 4 wickets
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary (Ind) and Ahmed Shah Pakteen (Afg)
Player of the match: Qais Ahmad (Balkh Legends)
  • Kabul Zwanan won the toss and elected to bat.

Broadcasting

The inaugural edition was broadcast live on the following channels and platforms:[18][19]

More information Country/Region, Television ...
Country/Region Television Internet
Afghanistan TOLO TV
Lemar TV		 YouTube (Official Channel)
India DSport JioTV
Pakistan Geo Super
PTV Sports		 Geo Super App
United Kingdom FreeSports Premier Player
United States
Canada		 Willow TV Willow TV Online
Middle East
North Africa		 OSN Sports Wavo
South Africa SuperSport SuperSport Play
Rest of the World None YouTube
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Statistics

Most runs

More information Player, Team ...
PlayerTeamRuns
Mohammad Shahzad Paktia Panthers344
Hazratullah Zazai Kabul Zwanan322
Chris Gayle Balkh Legends315
Laurie Evans Kabul Zwanan305
Ryan ten Doeschate Balkh Legends274
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More information Wickets, Player ...
Most wickets
Wickets Player Team Inns. Econ. BBI
17 Isuru Udana Paktia Panthers 8 7.65 4/38
16 Sayed Shirzad Kandahar Knights 8 7.82 4/19
15 Qais Ahmad Balkh Legends 9 6.26 5/18
14 Mirwais Ashraf Balkh Legends 9 7.97 4/19
13 Wayne Parnell Kabul Zwanan 10 8.96 3/35
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References

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