The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has approved a new policy limiting national players to participate in only three international franchise leagues per year, in addition to the upcoming five-team Afghanistan Premier League (APL), which is set to start around October 2026 in the UAE, the board announced at its annual general meeting in Kabul.

According to the ACB, the measure is designed to protect player fitness and mental well-being, manage workload, and ensure peak performance during national duties.

Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar and Rahmanullah Gurbaz are among key players that feature in foreign leagues.

Afghanistan’s next international series is a three-match T20I against West Indies in the UAE, ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup in India.

Manchester City moved a step closer to the Carabao Cup final after securing a 2–0 victory over Newcastle United in the first leg of their semi-final at St James’ Park on Tuesday night, with new signing Antoine Semenyo once again proving decisive.

Semenyo, who joined City in a £65 million move, continued his impressive start to life under Pep Guardiola by scoring for the second consecutive game. His strike made him the first City player since Emmanuel Adebayor in 2009 to score in his first two appearances for the club and put the visitors ahead against the run of play.

Newcastle started brightly and threatened early, with Yoane Wissa forcing goalkeeper James Trafford into action and later seeing efforts hit the woodwork twice in quick succession after the break. City, however, made the most of their reprieve, breaking forward on the counter as Jeremy Doku led the charge before Semenyo pounced to open the scoring.

Eddie Howe had voiced frustration before the match over a rule change that allowed Semenyo to feature in the tie despite earlier appearances for Bournemouth in the competition, and Newcastle were made to pay as City grew in control during the second half.

Semenyo appeared to have doubled his tally following a corner, but the goal was ruled out after a lengthy VAR review for interference by Erling Haaland. City remained composed and eventually sealed the win deep into added time when substitute Rayan Cherki finished off a sweeping move initiated by Rayan Ait-Nouri.

The result gives City a commanding advantage ahead of the second leg in Manchester next month, as Guardiola’s side look to book their place at Wembley, while Newcastle face a difficult task to overturn the deficit.

Football fans across Afghanistan can meanwhile tune in tonight, Wednesday January 14, to Ariana Television to watch the second semi-final where Chelsea will take on Arsenal.

Fans can follow Ariana News and Ariana Television’s social media pages for match details.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Toby Radford as the new batting coach of the national team. Radford replaces Andrew Puttick and is expected to join the squad ahead of Afghanistan’s upcoming three-match T20I series against the West Indies.

Alongside Radford’s appointment, the ACB also named Robert Ahmun as the team’s new strength and conditioning trainer. Both Radford and Ahmun have been appointed on one-year contracts and will link up with the squad before Afghanistan’s final T20I series ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan are scheduled to face the West Indies in a three-match T20I series on January 19, 21 and 22 in Dubai. The series is seen as a key part of the team’s preparations for the global tournament later this year.

Radford is a highly regarded Welsh coach and former first-class cricketer who represented Middlesex and Sussex. An ECB Level 4 certified coach, he brings vast international experience, having previously served as batting coach at Pakistan’s High Performance Centre and as Head of High Performance for the Bangladesh Cricket Board. He was also part of the West Indies coaching staff during their ICC T20 World Cup triumph in 2012.

In domestic cricket, Radford guided Middlesex to a national T20 title in 2008 and later served as head coach of Glamorgan. He is also known as an ECB coach mentor and the author of the popular cricket book Getting to Grips.

Ahmun, an elite strength and conditioning specialist from Wales, most recently served as Head of Performance Science and Medicine at the England and Wales Cricket Board. The ACB said it is now continuing its search for a head coach and a spin bowling coach, with current head coach Jonathan Trott expected to step down after the T20 World Cup.