He has already won this tournament
Mohammad Nabi Eisakhil was born on 1 January 1985 in Logar Province, Afghanistan. He is a right-handed batter and a right-arm off-spin bowler, and he has been the senior all-rounder of Afghan cricket for more than a decade.
He arrived at the first APL season as the man in charge of Balkh Legends, and he left it holding the trophy. His side won six league games in 2018, playing the kind of settled cricket that comes from a captain who trusts his own bowling changes and his lower order.
The semi-final against Nangarhar Leopards was the night the tournament turned his way: 47 runs from 16 balls, then four wickets for 12 runs, in a 171-run win that left no doubt about the finalists. Two days later Balkh chased 133 against Kabul Zwanan at Sharjah to take the title — beating Rashid Khan’s side in the final.
Eight years on, the league is back and so is Nabi, this time in Kandahar colours. The Warriors took him with the first pick of the Diamond round at the Dubai draft on 3 November 2026, a signing that gives Rashid Khan’s side a second experienced head in the dressing room and a player who has already won this tournament.
Mohammad Nabi in numbers
The season has not started, so there are no APL 2026-27 numbers for Mohammad Nabi yet. The first ball is on Sunday 27 December 2026, and his figures for this season will be added here after Match 1.
His 2018 record stands on its own: across the ten matches Balkh played — eight in the league stage, the semi-final and the final — he batted eight times for 177 runs and bowled in every match, taking nine wickets. The semi-final alone was worth the price of admission: 47 off 16, then 4 for 12.
| Season | Runs | Wickets | Best bowling | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APL | 2018 | 177 | 9 | 4/12 |
| APL | 2026-27 | — | — | — |
2018 figures compiled from the full scorecards of all ten matches Balkh played, 5–21 October 2018. The 2026-27 row stays blank until the season starts on 27 December 2026.
The second head in the dressing room
Nabi’s value to Kandahar is not just his off-spin or his lower-order hitting — it is that he has done this before, in this league, as a captain. Rashid Khan leads the side, but Nabi is the man beside him who knows what a title-winning APL campaign feels like, and what it asks of a squad across three weeks.
On the field the fit is natural. His off-spin pairs with Rashid’s leg-spin through the middle overs, and his batting gives the lower order a finisher who has closed games for Afghanistan for years. He is also the father in the squad in a literal sense: his son Hassan Eisakhil opens the batting for the same team, picked in Gold.
Kandahar play eight league matches with four playoff places for five teams, so there is little room for a slow start. A side with two former APL captains in its XI — Rashid, who lost the 2018 final, and Nabi, who won it — should not need long to find its feet.
The APL is back after eight years, and Nabi is the only player in this squad who knows what winning it feels like.
Frequently asked questions
Did Mohammad Nabi win the APL in 2018?
Yes. He captained Balkh Legends to the 2018 title, beating Rashid Khan’s Kabul Zwanan by four wickets in the final at Sharjah on 21 October 2018.
What did Nabi do in the 2018 semi-final?
Against Nangarhar Leopards he scored 47 runs from 16 balls and then took four wickets for 12 runs, in a 171-run win that sent Balkh to the final.
Which draft round did Kandahar pick Nabi in?
The Diamond round — he was the first pick of the round at the draft in Dubai on 3 November 2026.