Farmanullah Safi — the seamer who hit five sixes in a row

The second Gold pick, and a story Paktia’s fans already know

Farmanullah Safi was born in Kapisa on 14 March 2001. He bats left-handed, bowls right-arm fast-medium, and he is the young Afghan seamer in a Paktia squad built around spin.

Paktia took him as the second pick of the Gold round at the Dubai draft on 3 November 2026, for a reported $40,000, after Ijaz Ahmadzai and ahead of Colin Munro, David Wiese and Hashmatullah Shahidi. He joins a side captained by Rahmanullah Gurbaz, coached by Azhar Mahmood and mentored by Waqar Younis.

He was seventeen when the first APL season was played in Sharjah in October 2018, and his name appears in none of the five squads of that season. The 2026-27 season is his APL debut.

Five sixes in a row, then a debut to match

In the 2025 Shpageeza Cricket League, Safi hit five sixes in a row for Mis Ainak Knights against Band-e-Amir Dragons — 72 not out off 28 balls, player of the match, in a 72-run win. Five sixes in a row took him to fifty off 19 balls, and he finished with three fours and eight sixes at a strike rate of 257.14.

Four months later he made his T20I debut for Afghanistan against Qatar in Doha, scoring 12 off 10 balls and taking 2 for 19 in a 25-run win. It remains his only international appearance, but it showed exactly what he is: a bowler who takes wickets and a batter who changes games late.

In the 2026 Shpageeza he did it again for Band-e-Amir Dragons, an unbeaten 54 off 25 against Amo Sharks, the top score of his side’s innings. He has a maiden first-class century of 121 to his name as well.

No APL numbers yet — a debut at twenty-five

Safi has no APL figures yet. He did not play in 2018, and the 2026-27 season has not started, so his numbers will be filled in once the matches are played.

2026-27 figures will be added here once the matches are played.

A home-grown seamer who can bat

Afghanistan’s attack has long been built on spin. A home-grown seamer who can bat is a rarer commodity, and Safi is that player: lively right-arm fast-medium, a left-handed batter in the lower middle order, and a sharp fielder — two catches and a wicket in that Amo Sharks game alone.

For Paktia, he fills the young Afghan seam slot. Gurbaz gives the side its power at the top, Hasaranga its world-class spin, and Munro and Wiese their overseas experience. At a reported $40,000, Safi is the kind of pick that can look very cheap by the end of December.

A new club, a blank record

Twenty league matches, three playoffs and a final: that is the shape of APL 2026-27. Five teams play each other twice, eight matches apiece, and four of them reach the playoffs, so one side is out after the league stage. A win is worth two points. The table is still blank — the season has not started, and the first update comes after Match 1 on 27 December 2026, first ball 5:30 PM Afghanistan time (5:00 PM Dubai time) in the UAE, with the final on Wednesday 20 January 2027.

Paktia are a new club for 2026-27, not a continuation of the 2018 Paktia Panthers. Note that the Balkh squad’s Farhan Zakhil in 2018 is a different player altogether. The APL T20 season starts on 27 December 2026 in the UAE.