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 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, 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
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. 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. The matches were telecast on 1TV. 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). In May 2017 however, the ICC recognised Afghanistan's 50-over Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament by granting it List A status and matches in the 2017 Shpageeza cricket league are classified as Twenty20 status.
Teams
  Amo SharksKabul EaglesBoost DefendersMis Ainak KnightsSpeenghar TigersBand-e-Amir DragonsPamir ZalmiHindukush Starsclass=notpageimage| 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. Following teams participate in the Shpageeza T20 Tournament:
Tournament season and results
| Season | Final | Player of the series | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
TV rights
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
References
- ^ "د شپږیزې کرکټ لیګ په تاریخ کې د لومړي ځل لپاره اته لوبډلې وپلورل شوې". cricket.af.
- "2014 Season Cricket Schedule - Upcoming Cricket Calendar: Shpageeza T20 Tournament, Aug-Sep 2014 (in Afghanistan)". ESPNcricinfo.com. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- "Shpageeza Cricket League Betting Tips - Latest Afghan T20 Cup Tips". CricBetLive. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- "SCL 2017 Live Streaming & TV Channel, Afghanistan Shpageeza Cricket League 2017". CricketZine. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- "1TV Afghanistan Live - About 1TV Afghanistan". Afghan Online TV Channels. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- "Afghanistan domestic competitions awarded first-class and List A status". ESPN Cricinfo. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- "In Principle Agreement to Constitutional and Financial Changes to ICC". International Cricket Council. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
- "ICC Recognizes Afghanistan's Domestic ODI Tournament As List A League". Bakhtar News. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- "Domestic Cricket in Afghanistan". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
External links
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