Imran Mir — the opener in form

Imran Mir — Batter

Imran Mir joins Akcel United Kabul as a Gold pick of the 2026 draft — a 25-year-old right-hand opener who has spent the last two domestic seasons scoring heavily at the top of the order.

Mir is the kind of signing that tells you how Kabul’s scouts were thinking: not a reputation, a run of form. He scored 296 runs in Shpageeza 2025, the fourth-highest tally in the tournament, and followed it with 77 off 45 balls in the Shpageeza 2026 final — the innings of a batter who likes the big occasion rather than shrinking from it. His List A career best is 161 against Band-e-Amir, made in 2026.

Born in Logar on 30 September 2001, he is a right-hand opening batter who bowls right-arm medium. He is 25, Afghan, and uncapped at senior international level — which is exactly why the APL matters to him. A strong season at the top of Kabul’s order, against attacks featuring international quicks and spinners, is the fastest way to put his name in front of the national selectors.

Kabul took him in the Gold category at the player draft in Dubai on 3 November 2026, for a reported US$40,000. He will open with either Johnson Charles or D’Arcy Short, and the job is the same either way: give Kabul a start that lets Hazratullah Zazai and the middle order play with freedom, not rescue work.

APL 2026-27 in numbers

The season has not started yet, so Imran Mir has no APL 2026-27 numbers at all. The first ball is on Sunday 27 December 2026 at 5:30 PM Afghanistan time (5:00 PM Dubai time) in the UAE, and this page will carry his season figures from Match 1 onwards. Until then, the table below is honest: played 0, and everything else to be announced.

What he brings into the season, in verified figures:

Season figures are to be announced — the season starts on 27 December 2026. Career figures are from the verified player record.

Where he fits at Akcel United Kabul

Imran Mir plays for Akcel United Kabul in APL 2026-27, captained by Azmatullah Omarzai and coached by Shane McDermott, with Nikhil Chopra as mentor. The squad of nineteen was set at the draft in Dubai on 3 November 2026 — 90 players picked from 462 across 18 rounds.

Mir’s job is the top of the order: see off the new ball, score through the powerplay, and set up the hitters behind him. Kabul’s batting has power — Charles, Short, Zazai — but power needs a platform, and a 25-year-old opener in the form of his life is a good place to find one. The season starts on Sunday 27 December 2026 in the UAE; APL T20 will follow every Kabul match, with fixtures on the APL Schedule and the standings on the APL Points Table. The full squad is on the APL Players page.

Five teams chase four playoff places in a double round-robin, so every team plays eight league matches — each opponent twice — and one side goes home after the league stage. The final is on Wednesday 20 January 2027. Kabul are a new club with no APL record yet, and that is the point: everything this squad does in 2026-27 will be a first.