2020 Shpageeza Cricket League

2020 Shpageeza Cricket League
Dates6 – 18 September 2020
Administrator(s)Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB)
Cricket formatTwenty20
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and playoffs
Host(s) Afghanistan
ChampionsKabul Eagles (2nd title)
Runners-upMis Ainak Knights
Participants6
Matches19
Player of the seriesAzmatullah Omarzai
Karim Janat[1]
Most runsUsman Ghani (355)
Most wicketsWaqar Salamkheil (13)
Nangialai Kharoti (13)
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The 2020 Shpageeza Cricket League was the seventh edition of the Shpageeza Cricket League,[2] a professional Twenty20 cricket (T20) league established by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in 2013, and the third edition to have official T20 status. Following a request to the Ministry of Public Health due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was given approval in July 2020 to take place.[3] The ACB also confirmed that it was their priority to run a successful tournament.[4]

The tournament was originally scheduled to take place from 13 to 25 September 2020,[5] with the matches being played at the Kabul International Cricket Stadium.[6] However, the tournament was moved forward by one week,[7] to avoid clashing with the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL), which itself had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] Six teams took part in the tournament,[9] and the Mis Ainak Knights were the defending champions.[10]

On 20 August 2020, a players' draft took place ahead of the tournament.[11][12] The ACB also stated that all Afghan players taking part in the 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) should return to Afghanistan before the CPL is due to conclude, so they can be available to play in the Shpageeza Cricket League.[13] However, after talks with the President of Cricket West Indies, it was decided that these players could finish the CPL before returning, while the players with IPL contracts would miss the tournament completely.[14]

The opening match of the tournament saw the Mis Ainak Knights beat the Band-e-Amir Dragons by one run, with the Knights managing to defend 13 runs from the final over of the game.[15]

The Kabul Eagles, Mis Ainak Knights, Band-e-Amir Dragons and Boost Defenders finished in the top four places in the group stage to progress to the knockout phase of the tournament. In the first qualifier, the Kabul Eagles beat the Mis Ainak Knights by four wickets. Therefore, the Eagles progressed directly to the final, with the Knights moving to the second qualifier match.[16] In the eliminator match, the Band-e-Amir Dragons beat the Boost Defenders by 76 runs to join the Knights in the second qualifier match.[17] The second qualifier saw the Mis Ainak Knights beat the Band-e-Amir Dragons by five wickets,[18] to join the Kabul Eagles in the final.[19] In the final, the Kabul Eagles beat Mis Ainak Knights by nine runs to win the tournament.[20]

  1. ^ "Ayobi Kabul Eagles lift Shpageeza Title in a thrilling Final". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Five companies awarded ownership rights of SCL7". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Afghanistan Cricket Board Receives Government Approval to Resume Domestic Cricket". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Successful Shpageeza and APLT20 a priority: ACB Chairman". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Shpageeza Cricket League to Begin in September in Kabul". Tolo News. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  6. ^ "RTA secures broadcasting rights for seventh edition of SCL". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  7. ^ "ACB reschedule Shpageeza Cricket League to avoid IPL clash". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Governing Council meeting on August 1 likely to finalise IPL 2020 schedule | ESPNcricinfo.com". www.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Afghanistan's Sphageeza Cricket League to Begin on September 13 in Kabul". Network18 Media and Investments Ltd. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Mohammad Nabi, Naveen-ul-Haq take Mis Ainak Knights to Shpageeza title". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Teams Bid on Players for Shpageeza Cricket League Auction". Tolo News. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Afghanistan's Shpageeza Cricket League 2020: Squads and complete list of players". Cricket Times. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  13. ^ "CPL 2020: Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman could miss playoffs". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman to head directly to IPL from CPL". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Mis-e Ainak Knights emerge triumphant in a thrilling tournament opener". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Azmatullah, Noor ali take Eagles to Finals". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Asghar, Mirwais take Dragons to Qualifier". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Sublime Bahar, Shahidullah take Knights to Final". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Band-e-Amir to Face Mis-e-Ainak in Cricket League Semi-Final". Tolo News. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Shpageeza Cricket League 2020: Kabul Eagles beat Mis Ainak Knights to become champions". Cricket Times. Retrieved 16 September 2020.