Irfan Pathan, Mark Boucher, and Waqar Younis Named Support Staff for Afghanistan Premier League

Revamped League: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced the captains, head coaches, and mentors for the five teams in the upcoming inaugural Afghanistan Premier League.

High-Profile Mentors: Several legendary former international players have been assigned as mentors and coaches, including Irfan Pathan (mentor for Kandahar Warriors), Mark Boucher (mentor for the Nangarhar team), Waqar Younis (mentor for the Paktia team), Tillakaratne Dilshan (mentor for the Balkh team), and Azhar Mahmood (coach for the Paktia team).

The ACB had launched an Afghanistan Premier League in early 2018 as well, But only one season of that league was played between five teams. High-profile names such as Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and Shahid Afridi were part of the action, but it was discontinued following payment issues and concerns around the league's integrity started emerging.

Franchise Ownership: While the support staff and leadership groups are locked in, official franchise ownership details are expected to be announced soon.

Team Captains and Leadership

The five franchises are captained by Afghanistan's premier international stars:

Kandahar Warriors: Rashid Khan (Captain), Ravi Bopara (Head Coach), Irfan Pathan (Mentor)

Akcel United Kabul: Azmatullah Omarzai (Captain), Shane McDermott (Head Coach), Nikhil Chopra (Mentor) Nangarhar Team: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Captain), Toby Radford (Head Coach), Mark Boucher (Mentor)

Paktia Team: Rahmat Shah (Captain), Azhar Mahmood (Head Coach), Waqar Younis (Mentor)

Balkh Team: Ibrahim Zadran (Captain), Mickey Arthur (Head Coach), Tillakaratne Dilshan (Mentor)

Player Draft & International Stars

Draft Schedule: The players' draft takes place on November 3 in Dubai, featuring a pruned pool of 462 players selected from nearly 1,500 registrants.

Global Names: Prominent international players registered for the draft include Wanindu Hasaranga, Reeza Hendricks, Romario Shepherd, Rovman Powell, Imran Tahir, Akeal Hosein, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, and Kusal Perera.

Tournament Rules & Logistics

Squad and Playing XI Composition: Squad sizes are set to 19 players. Each team must include a minimum of 12 local/Afghan players and between 6 to 7 overseas players. Playing XIs must feature 3 to 4 overseas players and at least 7 local players (including one emerging player).

Salary Cap: The franchise salary cap for player remuneration is set at US$725,000.

Venue & Schedule: The tournament is scheduled to begin on December 27, and while unconfirmed officially, it is understood that matches will be hosted in the UAE rather than Afghanistan.