David Wiese — the most travelled T20 cricketer in the draft

A signing built on experience, not promise

David Wiese was born in Roodepoort, South Africa, on 18 May 1985. He bats right-handed and bowls right-arm medium-fast, and Paktia took him as their fourth Gold pick at the Dubai draft on 3 November 2026, for a reported $40,000, after Ijaz Ahmadzai, Farmanullah Safi and Colin Munro.

He arrives at 41 as one of the most travelled T20 cricketers in the world, a man who has played the format in South Africa, England, Pakistan, India, the Caribbean and three T20 World Cups. He will work under head coach Azhar Mahmood, himself a great seam-bowling all-rounder, with Waqar Younis as mentor — a pair who understand exactly what Wiese brings, because they built careers on the same skills.

He has never played the APL before. He was not in any squad for the first season in 2018, so 2026-27 is his debut in the league, eight years after it began.

Two international careers, separated by five years

Wiese’s international career is really two careers, separated by five years and a change of passport. The first was with South Africa, where he made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo on 2 August 2013 and his ODI debut against New Zealand at Centurion on 19 August 2015. He was in South Africa’s squad for the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, and his best day in green and gold came early, with five for 23.

The second was with Namibia, the country he qualified for through his father, and it took him to two more T20 World Cups. He retired from international cricket in June 2024, after a career that spanned 54 T20I matches across the two nations.

On the franchise circuit he has been everywhere: the IPL, the PSL — where he won three titles with Lahore Qalandars — the CPL, The Hundred and the SA20. Few players alive have been in as many tight finishes as he has.

No APL numbers yet — a debut at forty-one

Wiese 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.

The hard overs, and the finish

Wiese’s job is the one he has done for a decade and a half: bowl the hard overs, change pace at the death, and finish innings with the bat when the game is still in the balance. Paktia’s thinking is easy to read — a squad full of young Afghan talent and big-name spinners also needs someone who has been in the last over before.

He is the second veteran overseas all-rounder in the side alongside Colin Munro, and the two of them give Gurbaz something no nineteen-year-old can: a dressing room that stays calm when a chase tightens.

A new club, a blank record

The format is a double round-robin: five teams, eight league matches each, two against every opponent, and the top four go through to the playoffs. A win is worth two points, and one side goes home after the league stage. Nothing is on the board yet — every team starts on zero, and the first points come after Match 1 on 27 December 2026, when the first ball is bowled at 5:30 PM Afghanistan time (5:00 PM Dubai time) in the UAE. The season ends with the final on Wednesday 20 January 2027.

Paktia are a new club for 2026-27, not a continuation of the 2018 Paktia Panthers. The 2018 title went to Balkh Legends, who beat Kabul Zwanan by four wickets in the final on 21 October 2018 — a side that included Wiese’s new Paktia team-mate Munro. The APL T20 season starts on 27 December 2026 in the UAE.