Shpageeza Cricket League

Cricket tournament

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Cricket tournament

Shpageeza Cricket League
شپږیزه کرکټ لیګ

The logo of the Afghan T20 cricket league.

Countries|  Afghanistan
Administrator| Afghanistan Cricket Board,
SCL Department
Format| Twenty20
First edition| 2013
Latest edition| 2024
Next edition| 2025
Tournament format| Round-robin and Playoffs
Number of teams| Five (5)
Current champion| Amo Sharks (1st title)
Most successful| Speenghar Tigers (3 titles)
TV| RTA
Website| Cricket.af
Shpageeza.af

The Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL, also known as the X-Bull Energy Shpageeza Cricket League for sponsorship reasons and Etisalat Sixes T20) (Pashto: شپږیزه کرکټ لیګ) is a Twenty20 cricket tournament organized by the Afghanistan Cricket Board every year in Afghanistan. The Shpageeza tournament is established with eight franchises,[1] including players from the national team, overseas, players from the ‘A’ team and players from the under 19 team as well as elite performers from the respective regions participating in this tournament. In addition, ACB has given the league an identity by franchising all teams while players will be selected through a draft for each team.

The ultimate goal of this 12-day tournament is promoting cricket and sport in Afghanistan and establishing peace through sport. The tournament is broadcast live on Afghanistan's prominent channel 1TV using HD quality production standards, and the tournament is commercialized by franchising and marketing each team to a company/organization. Through the design and broadcast of this tournament, Afghans will have firsthand access to watch their national players on their home ground.

## History

[edit]

The League was established in 2013 titled as Shpageeza Cricket Tournament. Five regional teams participated in the event and it was a successful initiative by Afghanistan Cricket Board. The champion of the first league was Speenghar Tigers for the inaugural edition of the tournament. The matches were telecast by Shamshad TV. The second edition in 2014 was conducted with the same number of teams, representing five regions in the country. Mis-e-Ainak Knights won the title championship.[2] Gulbadin Naib was named Man of the tournament; Noor Ali Zadran was the best batsman and Rokhan Barekzai was named the best bowler of this edition.[3] The matches were telecast on 1TV.[4][5] Starting from the 2017 season, the ICC granted List A status to the Twenty20 domestic competition (List A rather than Twenty20 status as Afghanistan did not have a domestic 50-over tournament).[6][7] In May 2017 however, the ICC recognised Afghanistan's 50-over Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament by granting it List A status[8] and matches in the 2017 Shpageeza cricket league are classified as Twenty20 status.

## Teams

[edit]

Amo Sharks

Kabul Eagles

Boost Defenders

Mis Ainak Knights

Speenghar Tigers

Band-e-Amir Dragons

Pamir Zalmi

Hindukush Stars

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Location of Shpageeza League teams

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Shpageeza Cricket League was played among 5 regions of Afghanistan but a sixth team Kabul Eagles, officially sponsored by Aatif Mashal was added in the 2015 edition. In 2021, two new teams, Hindukush Stars and Pamir Zalmi were added.[1] Following teams participate in the Shpageeza T20 Tournament:

Team  | Region  | Provinces  | Home Ground  | Debut  | Wins

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Amo Sharks
(Amo Nahangan)  | Amo  | Balkh, Faryab, Jowzjan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol | Balkh Cricket Stadium, Mazar-i-Sharif | 2013  | N/A
Band-e-Amir Dragons
(Band-e-Amir Khamaran)  | Band-e-Amir  | Ghazni, Bamyan, Daykundi, Maidan Wardak | Ghazni Cricket Ground, Ghazni | 2013  | 1 (2017)
Boost Defenders
(Boost Satunki)  | Boost  | Kandahar, Helmand, Nimroz, Uruzgan, Zabul | Kandahar International Cricket Stadium, Kandahar | 2013  | N/A
Hindukush Stars
(Hindukush Stori)  | Hindukush  | Herat, Badghis, Farah, Ghor | Herat Cricket Ground, Herat | 2022  | N/A
Kabul Eagles
(Kabul Bazan)  | Kabul | Kabul | Alokozay Kabul International Cricket Ground, Kabul | 2015  | 2 (2016, 2020)
Mis Ainak Knights
Mis Ainak Atalan | Mis Ainak  | Khost, Logar, Paktia, Paktika | Khost Cricket Stadium, Khost | 2013  | 1 (2014, 2019)
Pamir Zalmi
(Pamir Zalmi)  | Pamir  | Kunduz, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Panjshir, Parwan, Takhar | Kunduz Cricket Ground, Kunduz | 2022  | N/A
Speenghar Tigers
(Spin Ghar Zmaryan)  | Speenghar  | Nangarhar, Kapisa, Kunar, Laghman, Nuristan[9] | Ghazi Amanullah International Cricket Stadium, Jalalabad | 2013  | 3 (2013, 2015, 2022)

## Tournament season and results

[edit]

Season  | Final  | Player of the series

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Winners  | Result  | Runners-up
2016  | Kabul Eagles | Kabul Eagles won by 5 wickets
Scorecard | Mis Ainak Knights | Mohammad Nabi
2017 | Band-e-Amir Dragons | Band-e-Amir Dragons won by 4 runs
Scorecard | Mis Ainak Knights | Karim Sadiq
2019 | Mis Ainak Knights | Mis Ainak Knights won by 4 wickets
Scorecard | Band-e-Amir Dragons |
2020 | Kabul Eagles | Kabul Eagles won by 9 runs
Scorecard | Mis Ainak Knights | Karim Janat
2022 | Speenghar Tigers | Speenghar Tigers won by 6 runs
Scorecard | Boost Defenders | Najibullah Zadran
2024 | Amo Sharks | Amo Sharks won by 7 wickets
Scorecard | Band-e-Amir Dragons | Zubaid Akbari

## Sponsors

[edit]

* Alokozay Group of Companies
* Polio Eradication Program Afghanistan
* Voice of America

## TV rights

[edit]

The TV rights were won by the Afghan channel named 1TV.

The state-owned channels RTA and RTA Sports are the broadcasters of the 2019 and 2020 editions.

## See also

[edit]

* Out of the Ashes[relevant?]
* Kabir Khan[relevant?]
* Taj Malik[relevant?]
* Hamid Hassan[relevant?]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "د شپږیزې کرکټ لیګ په تاریخ کې د لومړي ځل لپاره اته لوبډلې وپلورل شوې". cricket.af.
2. ^ "2014 Season Cricket Schedule - Upcoming Cricket Calendar: Shpageeza T20 Tournament, Aug-Sep 2014 (in Afghanistan)". ESPNcricinfo.com. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
3. ^ "Shpageeza Cricket League Betting Tips - Latest Afghan T20 Cup Tips". CricBetLive. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
4. ^ "SCL 2017 Live Streaming & TV Channel, Afghanistan Shpageeza Cricket League 2017". CricketZine. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
5. ^ "1TV Afghanistan Live - About 1TV Afghanistan". Afghan Online TV Channels. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
6. ^ "Afghanistan domestic competitions awarded first-class and List A status". ESPN Cricinfo. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
7. ^ "In Principle Agreement to Constitutional and Financial Changes to ICC". International Cricket Council. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
8. ^ "ICC Recognizes Afghanistan's Domestic ODI Tournament As List A League". Bakhtar News. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
9. ^ "Domestic Cricket in Afghanistan". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website of Afghanistan Cricket Board
* Official Twitter account of Shpageeza 2022

* v
* t
* e

Shpageeza Cricket League

Seasons|

* 2016
* 2017
* 2019
* 2020
* 2022
* ~~2023~~
* 2024

Participating teams|

* Amo Nahangan ("Sharks")
* Band-e-Amir Khamaran ("Dragons")
* Boost Satunki ("Defenders")
* Kabul Bazan ("Eagles")
* Mis Ainak Atalan ("Knights")
* Spin Ghar Zmaryan ("Tigers")

* v
* t
* e

Cricket in Afghanistan

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB)

National teams|

* Men
* Women (defunct)
* Men's A
* Men's U-19

Regional Teams|

* Amo Region
* Band-e-Amir Region
* Boost Region
* Mis Ainak Region
* Spin Ghar Region

Tournaments|

| First-class|

* Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament
* Mirwais Nika Provincial 3-Day

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One Day|

* Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament
* Green Afghanistan One Day Cup

Twenty20|

| Regional|

* Shpageeza Cricket League
* Qosh Tepa National T20 Cup

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Franchise|

* Afghanistan Premier League (defunct)

Grounds|

* Balkh
* Ghazi Amanullah (Jalalabad)
* Kabul
* Kandahar
* Khost
* Kunduz
* Others

Players|

* Test cricketers
* ODI cricketers
* T20I cricketers
* Captains

Records|

* Test records
* One Day International records
* Twenty20 International records

* v
* t
* e

Twenty20 cricket competitions

Current|

| International|

* Global Super League (since 2024)

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Africa|

* CSA T20 Challenge (since 2004)
* Zimbabwe Domestic Twenty20 Competition (since 2007)
* CSA Provincial T20 Cup (since 2019)
* Women's T20 Cup (since 2020)
* SA20* (since 2023)

Americas|

* Women's Twenty20 Blaze (since 2012)
* Caribbean Premier League* (since 2013)
* Global T20 Canada* (since 2018)
* Minor League Cricket* (since 2021)
* Women's Caribbean Premier League* (since 2022)
* Major League Cricket* (since 2023)

Asia|

* Bangladesh Premier League
* Indian Premier League
* International League T20
* Lanka Premier League
* Nepal Premier League
* Pakistan Super League
* Pakistan Women's T20 League
* Shpageeza Cricket League
* Women's Premier League

Europe|

* Dutch Twenty20 Cup
* Regional Pro Series
* T20 Blast
* men's
* women's
* European T20 Premier League

Oceania|

* Big Bash League
* men's
* women's
* Super Smash
* men's
* women's

Defunct|

| International|

* International 20:20 Club Championship (2005)
* Stanford Super Series (2008)
* Champions League Twenty20 (2009–14)
* Cricket All-Stars (2015)
* Africa T20 Cup (2015–18)

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Africa|

* Mzansi Super League (2018–19)

Americas|

* Stanford 20/20 (2006–08)
* Caribbean Twenty20 (2010–13)

Asia|

* Afghanistan Premier League
* Everest Premier League
* Hong Kong T20 Blitz
* Indian Cricket League
* National Cricket League
* Nepal T20 League
* Shpageeza Cricket League
* SLC Super Provincial Twenty20
* SLC Twenty20 Tournament
* Sri Lanka Premier League
* Victory Day T20 Cup
* Women's T20 Challenge

Europe|

* Charlotte Edwards Cup
* North Sea Pro Series
* Women's Cricket Super League

Oceania|

* Australian Women's Twenty20 Cup
* KFC Twenty20 Big Bash

Franchise competitions are indicated by an asterisk (*) symbol next to it.
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*[e]: Edit this template