2017 Shpageeza Cricket League

2017 Shpageeza Cricket League
شپږيزه کريکټ ليګ ۲۰۱۷
Dates11 September 2017 – 21 September 2017
Administrator(s)Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB)
Cricket formatTwenty20
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and playoffs
Host(s) Afghanistan
ChampionsBand-e-Amir Dragons
Participants6
Matches19
Player of the seriesKarim Sadiq (Kabul Eagles)
Most runsAsghar Afghan (Kabul Eagles) 250
Most wicketsZahir Khan (Mis Ainak Knights) 15
Official websitewww.shpageeza.af
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The 2017 season of the Shpageeza Cricket League (Pashto: شپږيزه کريکټ ليګ ۲۰۱۷), also known as SCL 5, was the fifth edition of the Shpageeza, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in 2013. The tournament featured the six teams that played in the previous season. The 2017 season was reported to be played from 18 to 28 July 2017, but took place in September 2017, with the Kabul International Cricket Ground hosting all the matches.[1]

The player auction took place in May 2017.[2] Overseas players sold during the auction included Umar Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Kamran Akmal, Rumman Raees, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes and Sabbir Rahman (Bangladesh), Sikandar Raza, Solomon Mire, Sean Williams and Hamilton Masakadza (Zimbabwe) and Rayad Emrit (West Indies).[2] However, following a breakdown in relations between the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the PCB banned its players from taking part.[3] The Bangladesh players also withdrew. As a result of this, and the tournament moving from July to September, overseas players were redrafted.[4] Shortly before the tournament, Sean Williams decided not to travel to join up with Spin Ghar Tigers in order to work on his fitness.[5]

On 13 September 2017, during the match between Boost Defenders and Mis Ainak Knights, a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a checkpoint near the road leading to the stadium, killing three people.[6] The match was briefly halted, but soon resumed.[6] Following the blast, the South African and Zimbabwean cricket boards ordered their representatives to return home. However, most of the Zimbabwean players opted to remain and continue with the tournament, as did the majority of other overseas players, coaches, and commentators[7][8][9] such as Dean Jones who expressed his solidarity with the people of Afghanistan.[10] This was the first edition of the tournament since the ICC granted it official Twenty20 status (originally it was given List A cricket status before the 50-over Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament was also recognised).[11][12]

  1. ^ "SCL 2017, Shpageeza Cricket League T20 2017 Schedule, Fixtures, Timetable & Results". ESPN Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Afghanistan's Shpageeza Cricket League's Auction done and dusted". CricTracker. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Pakistan bans its cricketers from playing in Afghanistan T20 league". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Shpageeza Cricket League 2017 Squads: Who are the players that have been roped in?". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Sean Williams opts out of the Afghanistan T20 league". CricTracker. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Afghan T20 League match resumes after blast in Kabul". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  7. ^ "Zim players defy ZC to play in Afghanistan". Cricket 365. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Dean Jones, cricketers make narrow escape as blast kills 3 near Kabul stadium". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Majority of Afghan T20 league's foreign contingent stays back after blast". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  10. ^ Dean Jones (8 December 2018). "Big Bash League: Dean Jones on BBL star Rashid Khan and Afghanistan cricket; My brush with Islamic State". AthletesVoice. PureForm Golf. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Afghanistan domestic competitions awarded first-class and List A status". ESPN Cricinfo. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  12. ^ "ICC Recognizes Afghanistan's Domestic ODI Tournament As List A League". Bakhtar News. Retrieved 9 August 2017.