Afghanistan Premier League postponed after payment delay

The second edition of the T20 league has been put back a year after organisers and funders Snixer Sports withheld money for the first competition

The future of the Afghanistan Premier League is in major doubt after the 2019 edition of the T20 competition was postponed due to funding problems.

Chief investors Snixer Sports have missed scheduled payments for the first tournament held in 2018 and have been removed from their position as organisers, according to the Afghanistan Cricket Board.

ACB also have "concerns about risks for integrity of the league posed by people connected to Snixer Sports", leading to an investigation over possible corruption.

The inaugural APL was held last October in Sharjah and eventually won by Balkh Legends, with the follow-up event due to take place next month.

It is the latest T20 competition to fall foul of financial problems after the Gurmeet Singh-backed Euro T20 Slam, due to start in August, was cancelled just two weeks prior to the start of the tournament.

The UAE T20x cricket league was also cancelled in November 2018 after several of the franchises failed to be sold in time.

In August, the Global T20 Canada, also run by Singh, was marred after two sides, Toronto Nationals and Montreal Tigers, reportedly refused to take to the field in protest over unpaid wages.