The Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL, also known as the Alokozay Cola Shpageeza Cricket League for sponsorship reasons and Etisalat Sixes T20) ( ps, شپږیزه کرکټ لیګ) is a

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inn ...

cricket tournament organized by the Afghanistan Cricket Board every year in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. 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 team while players will be selected through a draft for each team. The ultimate goal of this 12-day tournament is promoting

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

and

sport in Afghanistan Sport in Afghanistan is managed by the Afghan Sports Federation. Cricket and association football are the two most popular sports in Afghanistan. The traditional and the national sport of Afghanistan is Buzkashi. The Afghan Sports Federation prom ...

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 in 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 Shamshad Media Network ( ps, شمشاد) is based in Afghanistan and Dubai. Shamshad Media Network is a private and an Independent network based in Afghanistan which began transmission in 2005. Shamshad Media Network was established to represen ...

. 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 Gulbadin Naib (; born 16 March 1991) is an Afghan cricketer. Naib plays as an all-rounder, and is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm fast-medium. In April 2019, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) named Naib as the team's new One Day Int ...

was named Man of the tournament;

Noor Ali Zadran Noor Ali Zadran (Pashto: نور علی ځدراڼ; born 10 July 1988) is an Afghan cricketer. Ali is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler who plays for the Afghanistan national cricket team. He cites Ricky Ponting as his ...

was the best batsman and

Rokhan Barekzai Rokhan Barakzai or Rokan Barekzai (born 1 January 1989) is an Afghan cricketer. He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut on 28 November 2015 against Hong Kong. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut on 29 December 2015 against ...

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

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

Shpageeza Cricket League was played among 5 regions of Afghanistan but a sixth team

Kabul Eagles Kabul Eagles (Pashto/Dari: ''Kābəl Bāzān'') is one of eight regional level first-class cricket teams in Afghanistan. The team, based in the country's capital city Kabul, was created to join the five regional sides in the Ahmad Shah Abdali 4- ...

, officially sponsored by Aatif Mashal was added in the 2015 edition. In 2021, two new teams,

Hindukush Stars The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...

and

Pamir Zalmi Pamir may refer to: Geographical features * Pamir Mountains, a mountain range in Central Asia ** Pamir-Alay, a mountain system in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, part of the Pamir Mountains *A pamir (valley) is a high plateau or valley surr ...

were added. Following teams participate in the Shpageeza T20 Tournament:

TV rights

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

RTA RTA may refer to: Media * Radio and Television Arts, program at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada * Radio Television Afghanistan ** RTA TV, an Afghan channel * Radiodiffusion Télévision Algérienne * Real time attack, a game speedrun Scienc ...

and

RTA Sports RTA may refer to: Media * Radio and Television Arts, program at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada * Radio Television Afghanistan ** RTA TV, an Afghan channel * Radiodiffusion Télévision Algérienne * Real time attack, a game speedrun Science ...

are the broadcasters of the 2019 and 2020 editions.

References

External links

Official website of Afghanistan Cricket Boardinfo about Afghan Domestic cricket.Shpagiza tournament schedule 2014Shpagiza T20 Predictionball by ball infoOfficial Twitter account of Shpageeza 2022
{{Twenty20 leagues 2013 establishments in Afghanistan Afghanistan domestic cricket competitions Sports leagues established in 2013 Cricket in Afghanistan Twenty20 cricket leagues Professional cricket leagues

History

Teams

Sponsors

TV rights

See also

References

External links