Shahid Afridi, Chris Gayle, Rashid Khan, Brendon McCullum and Andre Russell were picked as the icon players for the inaugural Afghanistan Premium League T20 that will take place from October 5.
The player draft for the tournament was held on Tuesday and the icon players picked by the teams feature names synonymous with the shortest version of the sport.
The tournament will consist of five franchises from the Afghan cities of Kabul, Kandahar, Nangarhar, Paktia and Balkh. However, all the matches will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE.
Afridi was picked by Patkia while Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid was chosen as Kabul’s icon player. Jamaican stars Gayle and Russell were snapped up by Balkh and Nangarhar, respectively. McCullum was chosen by Kandahar.
“Each owner is supposed to have a Minimum $5,55,000 and Maximum $700,000/- player purse. The Franchise will have an additional purse of $145,000/- to purchase 3 players and if there is an unspent amount after picking the entire team, the same can be retained,” Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Shafiqullah Stanikzai stated at the event.
