Ibrahim Zadran

Profile details

FULL NAME

Ibrahim Zadran

PLAYING ROLE

Batter

TEAMS

Balkh Zwanan

The opener who already runs a national side

Ibrahim Zadran captains Balkh Zwanan in APL 2026-27 — and he already captains Afghanistan in T20 internationals, a job he has held since March 2026. The opener was Balkh’s Afghan Icon pick at the Dubai draft, and he leads a brand-new club into a season that starts on 27 December 2026 in the UAE.

Zadran was picked as Balkh Zwanan’s Afghan Icon and named captain at the players’ draft in Dubai on 3 November 2026, with Mickey Arthur as head coach and Tillakaratne Dilshan as mentor. It is a natural appointment: he opens the batting for his country, he has played Tests, ODIs and T20Is since 2019, and his 177 against England at the Champions Trophy in 2025 is the highest individual score in that tournament’s history.

His record gives Balkh a spine at the top of the order. He made 129 not out at the World Cup — still the highest score by an Afghan at that tournament — and 95 not out at the T20 World Cup, another Afghan record. His 2,234 ODI runs have come at 49.64, the kind of consistency a drafted side leans on when the middle order is still learning each other’s games.

He is not new to this league, either. He was 16 when Nangarhar Leopards named him in their squad for the first APL in September 2018, and he played once — the semi-final against Balkh Legends at Sharjah on 19 October 2018, when he made 0 off 5 and bowled two overs for 32 as Nangarhar were bowled out for 64 and lost by 171 runs. Eight years later he returns as a captain, leading a side that did not exist the last time the league was played.

Role, style and draft pick

Opening batter, right-hand bat, occasional right-arm medium-fast — and the captain.

Captain: Ibrahim Zadran. Head coach: Mickey Arthur. Mentor: Tillakaratne Dilshan.

APL 2026-27 numbers — none yet

The season starts on Sunday 27 December 2026, so no APL 2026-27 figures exist for any player yet — not for Ibrahim Zadran, and not for anyone else in the league.

His 2018 figures come from a single verified scorecard — the semi-final against Balkh Legends on 19 October 2018. No other 2018 APL appearance is recorded for him.

2018 figures from the one verified scorecard. The 2026-27 season has not started, so there are no figures for it yet.

Where he fits at Balkh Zwanan

Zadran’s job is twofold: score the runs at the top, and make nineteen strangers into a team before the playoffs. Balkh Zwanan play eight league matches — every opponent twice — and the top four reach the playoffs, so a slow start is survivable but an unsettled top order is not. His opening partners are Sediqullah Atal and Muhammad Waseem, which means three openers for two places and a selection call Arthur has to get right early.

The season’s shape is set even though the fixture list is not: first ball on Sunday 27 December 2026 at 5:30 PM Afghanistan time (5:00 PM Dubai time) in the UAE, 20 league matches, three playoffs and the final on Wednesday 20 January 2027. APL Schedule will carry Balkh’s dates as soon as the Afghanistan Cricket Board publishes them, and the full season is covered on APL — the league’s home on SialTV.