Balkh Zwanan Squad 2026

Balkh Zwanan carries the Balkh name into the 2026–27 Afghanistan Premier League. Draft releases sometimes shorten it to Team Balkh. Ibrahim Zadran, the national opener, is captain. Mickey Arthur is head coach. Tillakaratne Dilshan is mentor. That leadership group was set at the leaders' draft, then left in place when two other captaincies were swapped on 3 November 2026.

The name invites a lazy comparison with Balkh Legends, the 2018 champions. Resist it. Balkh Legends won the only completed APL, beating Kabul Zwanan by four wickets in Sharjah, with Mohammad Nabi as captain and Chris Gayle in the side. Balkh Zwanan has not played a match. It does not inherit that title, that squad, or that net run rate.

Played 0, won 0. Balkh Zwanan is a new franchise and starts the 2026 season with no APL record. The 2018 side from Balkh was a different club; its results stay with that club.

At the 3 November 2026 draft, Team Balkh used the second pick of the Platinum round on England all-rounder Moeen Ali. They followed with AM Ghazanfar and Luke Wood in Diamond, Gulbadin Naib, Sediqullah Atal and UAE captain Muhammad Waseem in Gold, used their Wildcard on Abdullah Ahmadzai, and added Qais Ahmad, the 2018 player of the final, in the Supplementary round.

The first ball of the season is listed by the official APL site as 27 December 2026, 5:00 PM Dubai time (5:30 PM Afghanistan time). Balkh's opponent that evening has not been published. Neither has the ground.