The 2026 Andhra Premier League (APL) is the fifth edition of the tournament, featuring a major expansion in both scale and geography. Organized by the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), the league moves beyond its traditional base in Visakhapatnam to include venues across the state.
Andhra Premier League 2026 Dates & Schedule
The auction for the Andhra Premier League 2026 was held on April 26,2026 in Vishakhapatnam. The tournament will start from June 3 and will last till June 28. The opening match will be played on June 2, 2026 at the Mangalgiri stadium. The Grand Finale is scheduled to be played on June 28, 2026 at the ACA-VDCA stadium in Vishakhapatnam.
APL 2026 Venues
For the first time, matches will be hosted at three major stadiums to increase rural engagement, the first is ACA-VDCA Stadium in Vishakapatnam. The Mangalgiri Stadium is the second ground where the matches will be played. It is also being developed as the ‘APL Headquarters’ with a ₹35 Crore upgrade. The Kadapa stadium is being updated with modern facilities for this season.
Read Also: IPL 2026 Points TAble
Andhra Premier League Teams and Captains
|
Team Name |
Captain |
|
Simhadri Vizag Lions |
Ricky Bhui |
|
Bhimavaram Bulls |
Nitish Kumar Reddy |
|
Kakinada Kings |
K.S. Bharat |
|
Capital Amaravati Royals |
Hanuma Vihari |
|
Royals of Rayalaseema |
Shaik Rasheed |
|
Vijayawada Sunshiners |
Ashwin Hebbar |
|
Tungabhadra Warriors |
Maheep Kumar |
APL 2026 Tournament Format
Round-robin league stage: In this format, all the seven teams play each other twice. This phase consists of 21 league matches.
Qualifier 1: The 1st and 2nd placed teams face off. The winner goes straight to the Final, while the loser gets a second chance in Qualifier 2.
Eliminator: The 3rd and 4th placed teams play a knockout match. The loser is out; the winner moves to Qualifier 2.
Qualifier 2: The loser of Qualifier 1 plays the winner of the Eliminator. The winner of this match takes the second spot in the Final.
Final: The finalists are the winner of Qualifier 1 and the winner of Qualifier 2.Beyond the trophy, teams compete for a prize pool that has historically grown with the league, with winners often taking home upwards of ₹25 lakh.
APL 2026 Player Auction Highlights
Purse Increase: Each franchise's auction purse was raised from ₹45 lakh to ₹55 lakh to support local players.
Player Pool: 558 players registered for the auction, with 33 players retained by their respective teams prior to the event.
Top Picks: Stephen Cheepurapalli was a major highlight, moving to the Tungabhadra Warriors for ₹12.25 lakh.
Emerging Talent: The auction pool included players as young as 15 (e.g., K. Thaman, born in 2011).
APL 2026 Live Coverage
The match will be streamed on StarSports Telugu, Jio hotstar and Fancode.
