The pick was earned, not gifted
Khalid Taniwal was born in Khost on 4 September 2006. He bats right-handed, bowls right-arm medium, and he is a right-hand opening batter who scores quickly at the top of the order.
Paktia picked him in the Emerging category at the Dubai draft on 3 November 2026, for a reported $10,000. He was one of Paktia’s three Emerging picks, alongside Abid Mohammadi and Wahidullah Zadran, and his selection put him in a nineteen-player squad led by Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a season starting on 27 December 2026 in the United Arab Emirates.
The draft took 90 players from a pool of 462 registered cricketers, across six categories and 18 rounds. The Emerging round exists for exactly this kind of player: young Afghan talent whose domestic numbers demand a bigger stage.
The best year of a young career
Taniwal arrived at the draft on the back of the best year of his young career: second-highest run-scorer in the National T20 Cup in May 2026, second-highest run-scorer in the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament that followed, three List A matches for Afghanistan A in Sri Lanka in June, and then a Shpageeza season in which he struck at 198.26 — the third-fastest rate in the tournament.
His first T20 hundred came in the Shpageeza in 2025, an unbeaten 102. His domestic teams are Mis Ainak Knights and Mis Ainak Region, and he is twenty years old — young enough that the APL is a beginning, not a destination.
He is not Khalid Ahmadzai, another young Afghan batter taken by Akcel United Kabul in the same Emerging round. Different player, different franchise, different squad.
No APL numbers yet — a debut at twenty
Taniwal 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.
| Season | Team | Matches | Runs / Wickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Did not play | — | — |
| 2026-27 | Paktia | 0 | Season not started |
2026-27 figures will be added here once the matches are played.
Pace at the top, from a twenty-year-old
Paktia’s batting order has power at the top in Gurbaz and Munro, and Taniwal is the young opener who can do the same job when the side needs a change — or when the captain wants a right-hander to open with his left-handed senior partner.
A strike rate of 198.26 in the Shpageeza is not a small-sample fluke; it is a season of scoring quickly, against bowlers who knew what was coming. If that tempo travels to the UAE, the Emerging pick will not stay an Emerging pick for long.
A new club, a blank record
Five teams chase four playoff places in APL 2026-27, so one side goes home after the league stage. Each team plays eight league matches — each opponent twice — and a win is worth two points. The table is empty because the season has not started: every team begins on zero points, and the first update comes 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 final is on Wednesday 20 January 2027.
Paktia are a new club for 2026-27, not a continuation of the 2018 Paktia Panthers. The Afghanistan Premier League 2026 season starts on 27 December 2026 in the UAE, and Taniwal’s first APL appearance will be his first in the tournament.
Frequently asked questions
What is Khalid Taniwal's best T20 innings?
An unbeaten 102, his first T20 hundred, in the Shpageeza in 2025. He struck at 198.26 in the 2026 Shpageeza — the third-fastest rate in the tournament.
How did Khalid Taniwal do in 2026?
He was the second-highest run-scorer in the National T20 Cup in May 2026 and in the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament that followed, then played three List A matches for Afghanistan A in Sri Lanka in June.
Is Khalid Taniwal the same player as Khalid Ahmadzai?
No. Khalid Ahmadzai is another young Afghan batter, taken by Akcel United Kabul in the same Emerging round. Taniwal plays for Paktia.
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