The Kashmir Premier League ( ur, ; abbreviated KPL) is a professional

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

league organized by

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Coun ...

in the Pakistani administrated side of the

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. League was founded in 2021. The league consists of seven franchises; six teams representing major cities in

, while one team is representing the

Kashmiri diaspora The Kashmiri diaspora refers to Kashmiris who have migrated out of the Kashmir into other areas and countries, and their descendants. India Punjab Estimated, 1,000-1,200 Kashmiri Hindus live in Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Cities of Doaba reg ...

. Each team plays the group stage matches in a

single round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & C. Me ...

with the top four teams qualifying for the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

and ultimately for the final. Matches played in the Kashmir Premier League do not have the official T20 status.

History

In December 2020, Chairperson of the

Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir The Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir is predominantly composed of senior MNAs and Senators of Pakistan. Its fundamental function is to raise the critical issue of Kashmir at national and international level. Its other key feature is its c ...

Shehryar Khan Afridi Shehryar Khan Afridi (; born 12 March 1971) is a Pakistani politician who serves as Chairperson of the Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir, in office since 13 May 2020. He served as the Minister of State for Interior from 31 August 2018 ...

launched the Kashmir Premier League in

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

. The

President of Azad Kashmir The Pakistan-administered state of Azad Kashmir was officially established on 24 October 1947. The president is the constitutional head while the prime minister is the chief executive of the state. The president elected by the Azad Jammu and Kash ...

Masood Khan Masood Khan () is a Pakistani-Kashmiri diplomat who is currently serving as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States. Khan also served as the 27th President of Azad Kashmir. Khan joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1980. From August 20 ...

, was appointed as the Chief Patron of the Kashmir Premier League. Ch. Shahzad Akhtar is the CEO and Arif Malik is the founding President of the Kashmir Premier League, and former Pakistan captain

Wasim Akram Wasim Akram HI (; born 3 June 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator, coach, and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, and several criti ...

is the founding Vice President.

Shahid Afridi Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi ( ur, شاہد افریدی‎, ps, شاهد افریدی; born 1 March 1977), known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is current ...

is the Brand Ambassador of the KPL. While,

Shoaib Akhtar Shoaib Akhtar (; ; born 13 August 1975) is a Pakistani former cricketer and commentator. Nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", he was the first bowler to be recorded bowling at 100 miles per hour, a feat he achieved twice in his career. Ak ...

is the peace ambassador of the league. On 16 February 2021, the official anthem of the league was released. It was directed by

Shaan Shahid Armaghan Shahid PP ( ur, ; born 27 April 1971), better known by his stage names Shaan Shahid ( ur, ) or Shaan, is a Pakistani actor, producer, model, writer and director. Shaan has established himself as one of the most popular leading acto ...

and sung by

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Rahat Fateh Ali Khan ( Punjabi, ; born 9 December 1974) is a Pakistani Singer, primarily of Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music. Khan is one of the biggest and highest paid singers in Pakistan. He is the nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Kha ...

. Many Pakistani film celebrities, such as Juggun Kazim,

Mehwish Hayat Mehwish Hayat (born 6 January 1988) is an Pakistani actress who primarily works in Urdu films and former television. She made her debut in film with comedy ''Jawani Phir Nahi Ani'' (2015) and later went on to ''Actor in Law'' (2016). Hayat is ...

Iman Ali Iman Ali ( ur, ; born 19 December 1980) is a Pakistani actress, model, and singer who appears in Urdu films. Ali made her film debut with a leading role in the 2007 thriller film ''Khuda Kay Liye'', for which she won a Lux Style Award for B ...

Ali Gul Pir Ali Gul Pir ( ur, علی گل پیر; born 14 February 1986) is a Pakistani rapper, television and voice actor, Brand ambassador and stand-up comedian. He achieved popularity with his first single, "Waderai Ka Beta", a comedy song about politica ...

Neelam Muneer Neelam Muneer Khan (Pashto/ ur, ; born 20 March 1992) is a Pakistani actress and model who appears in television dramas and films. She is best known for portraying the role of Ulfat in television series ''Dil Mom Ka Diya'' (2018), which earn ...

, and

Ayesha Omar Ayesha Omar (born 12 October 1981) is a Pakistani actress and YouTuber. Considered as a style icon in her home country, Omar is one of the most popular and highest-paid actresses of Pakistan. In 2012, she released her first singles "Chalte C ...

are brand ambassadors of the Kashmir Premier League. KPL has partnered with Shahid Afridi Foundation as a charity organization. The league was initially scheduled to start in May 2021. However, the

moved the time window for its start to August 2021. On 14 June 2021, diamond category of the Kashmir Premier League was announced. On 2 August 2021, match fixtures for the inaugural season of the KPL were announced. On 6 August, the opening ceremony of the league was held, with 25% spectators allowed in the stadium. The KPL was showcased at

Expo 2020 Expo 2020 ( ar, إكسبو 2020) was a World Expo hosted by Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. Originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 ...

from 25 March to 27 March 2022. The showcase was hosted by Zaariya Khan and some attendees were

Shoaib Malik Shoaib Malik ( Punjabi, ur, ; born 1 February 1982) is a Pakistani cricketer who plays for the Pakistan national cricket team and currently plays for Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He was the captain of the Pakistan national ...

Mohammad Amir Mohammad Amir ( ur, ; born 13 April 1992) is a Pakistani cricketer and bowler for the Pakistan national cricket team. He is playing as a left-arm fast-medium bowler and uses his left hand when batting. Amir made his first-class debut in N ...

Herschelle Gibbs Herschelle Herman Gibbs (born 23 February 1974) is a South African cricket coach and former cricketer, who played all formats of the game for fourteen years. A right-handed batsman, mostly opened the batting, Gibbs became the first player to hi ...

and

. In May 2022, former Pakistani

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Rashid Latif Rashid Latif (born 14 October 1968), is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team in Tests and One Day Internationals from 1992 to 2003 as a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman. He also serve ...

was appointed as the KPL’s Director of Cricket Operations. A league committee was formed on 7 July 2022. Bagh Stallions’ co-owner, Tauqir Sultan Awan, was elected as its chairman.

Teams

There are total seven teams in KPL representing 6 major cities of

and one team represents overseas Kashmiries.

Seasons

First season (2021)

The first edition of the league was held from the 6th to 17 August 2021 at the Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium.

was the only foreign player to arrive for the league, but didn't play a single match for his team, the Overseas Warriors, in the first season.

Daryll Cullinan Daryll John Cullinan (born 4 March 1967) is a former South African first-class cricketer who played Test cricket and One Day Internationals for South Africa as a specialist batsman. He was regarded as the most gifted batsman of his generation ...

and

Morné van Wyk Morné Nico van Wyk (born 20 March 1979) is a South African professional cricketer who has played in 17 One Day Internationals for South Africa. He is also the brother of fellow cricketer Divan van Wyk. Domestic career In October 2018, he was ...

are two foreign commentators in the first edition of the league. SR Group is the official title sponsor of the KPL 2021. The

Rawalakot Hawks Rawalakot Hawks ( ur, ) is a Pakistani professional T20 franchise cricket team competes in the Kashmir Premier League (Pakistan), Kashmir Premier League. They are captained by Ahmed Shehzad and coached by Arshad Khan (Pakistani cricketer), Ars ...

were the champions of first season, defeating the Muzaffarabad Tigers in the final. On 18 August 2021, it was announced that the second season of KPL will feature a seventh team.

Second season (2022)

The 2022 Kashmir Premier League is taking place from 13 August to 26 August with all matches taking place at the Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium. The 2022 KPL also featured the addition of

Jammu Janbaz Jammu Janbaz (Urdu: ) is a Pakistani franchise cricket team that competes in the Kashmir Premier League. It was founded in 2022 after the inaugural edition of Kashmir Premier League. The franchise is owned by Ghulam Hussain Shahid. The franch ...

. The title sponsor is Kingdom Valley, who also own the franchise

Results

Season results

Team results

; Notes * = Winner * = Runner-up * (x) = End of league games table position * = Team not in existence during the season

Broadcasting

Controversies

On 31 July 2021, it was reported that foreign cricketers were requested by the Indian cricket board (BCCI) against taking part in the inaugural Kashmir Premier League cricket tournament. Former Pakistani wicket keeper

tweeted that BCCI is warning other cricket boards that if their former players took part in Kashmir Premier League, they won't be allowed entry in India or allowed to work in Indian cricket at any level or in any capacity. Former South African cricketer

, who played for the Overseas Warriors, also accused

BCCI The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the worl ...

of pressuring him to not play in the KPL. The Pakistan cricket board (PCB) expressed displeasure at the reports that BCCI is trying to prevent players from joining the tournament and said that it would raise the issue with the relevant ICC forum. Responding to Gibbs and the PCB, the BCCI said that they are well within their rights to take decisions with respect to the cricketing ecosystem in India. On 1 August 2021, former

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

spinner

Monty Panesar Mudhsuden Singh "Monty" Panesar (born 25 April 1982) is a former English international cricketer. A left-arm spinner, Panesar made his Test cricket debut in 2006 against India in Nagpur and One Day International debut for England in 2007. In E ...

pulled out of the tournament. He took to

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

to reveal the news and said that, "I have decided not to participate in the KPL because of the political tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issues. I don't want to be in the middle of this, it would make me feel uncomfortable." Panesar further said in an interview that "BCCI had 'advised' him that if he played in the event, the 'consequences' of his decision could include not being granted a visa to India in the future and not being allowed to work in the country." On 2 August 2021, the BCCI urged ICC not to recognise the Kashmir Premier League due to the disputed nature of Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. In response, the ICC clarified that the tournament doesn't come under their jurisdiction as it is not an international tournament. The 2021 KPL received 15 million views within the first 5 matches and broke the record for Pakistan’s most viewed live sports event launch on digital media. The president of the KPL, Arif Malik, said that the BCCI’s efforts to stop the league only popularised it instead. In June 2022, four franchises of the KPL (Bagh Stallions, Mirpur Royals, Muzaffarabad Tigers and Rawalakot Hawks) wrote a letter to the PCB, requesting that the PCB withhold the NOC for the 2022 KPL. They cited the tournament management’s inefficiency to handle all of the matters properly. The main concerns were that an audit report was not provided for the first season and a league committee was not formed despite this being included in their agreement. The PCB also said that they would issue a NOC if certain conditions were met. The PCB later issued an NOC after the KPL provided all the requested documents. A league committee was also formed on 7 July 2022. In August 2022, Nasir Yusuf, one of the co-owners of Kotli Lions, filed a petition in the

Sindh High Court The High Court of Sindh ( ur, ) is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of Sindh. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at Karachi. Apart from being the highest Court of Appeal for Sindh in ...

that Faisal Nadeem and Khalid Zia, the other co-owners of Kotli Lions, had sidelined him from the team. Yusuf’s lawyer said that Nadeem and Zia had overtook the team and had not contacted Yusuf. They said that Kotli Lions should be barred from participating in the tournament without Yusuf's permission. Faisal Nadeem, Khalid Zia, President of the KPL, Arif Malik, CEO of the KPL, Chaudhry Shahzad Akhtar and Vice-president of the KPL,

were all issued notices for 15 August from the court. During the 2022 KPL, the KPL terminated Kotli Lions’ management after they weren’t able to pay outstanding payments. Kotli Lions’ head coach

Saeed Azad Muhammad Saeed Azad (born August 14, 1964, Karachi, Sindh) is a former Pakistani cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each en ...

left the team and was replaced by Mushtaq Ahmed. The KPL management temporarily took over Kotli Lions. The KPL also terminated the Overseas Warriors’ management after they were unable to pay their players. Zeeshan Altaf Lohya was later given ownership of Overseas Warriors.

References

External links

* {{Cricket in Pakistan Sport in Azad Kashmir Cricket administration in Pakistan Sports leagues in Pakistan Twenty20 cricket leagues Pakistani domestic cricket competitions Sports leagues established in 2021 Kashmir Premier League (Pakistan)