SCL 2022 Players' Draft held in Kabul, tournament likely to get underway on July 15

The Players’ Draft for the eighth edition of the Shpageeza Cricket League – SCL 2022 was held at the National Academy in ACB, on Friday, June 10, 2022. The draft saw 142 national and uncapped players being drafted in five different categories by eight franchises.

Eight players were already retained by the eight franchises before the draft. The defending champions Kabul Eagles had retained their skipper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and the finalists from the last edition, the Mis Ainak Knights, have retained Mohammad Shahzad in Icon Category.

Band-e-Amir Region has retained the star all-rounder Rashid Khan, Amo has kept faith in Darwish Rasooli, Bost Defenders retained Samiullah Shinwari and Speenghar Tigers also have kept Najibullah Zadran with them. The two new franchises added to this year’s event, the Pamir Zalmi and the Hindukush Stars, have retained two of the premier fast bowlers of Afghanistan, Shahpoor Zadran and Hamid Hassan respectively.

Afghanistan stars named in Icon Category

10 more players, Mohammad Nabi (Kabul Eagles), Fazal Haq Farooqi (Bost Defenders), Hashmatullah (Pamir Zalmi), Mujeeb ur Rahman (Hindukush Stars), Usman Ghani (Speen Ghar Tigers), Hazratullah Zazai (Hindukush Stars), Asghar Afghan (Mis Ainak), Karim Janat (Band-e-Amir), Ihsanullah Janat (Amo Sharks) and Noor Ali Zadran (Pamir Zalmi) were drafted in Icon category.

In addition, two players were drafted in the Diamond category by each franchise, three players were drafted in Platinum, four players were drafted in Golden and six players were drafted in the Silver category by each franchise respectively.

A total of 142 players were selected by 8 different franchises that will compete against each other, in a round-robin format at the eighth edition of the Shpageeza Cricket League 2022. It’s fine to note that the SCL 2022 is expected to be conducted from July 15 to August 2 in Kabul.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan cricket has taken steady strides in recent years, especially in the shorter versions of the game. While the likes of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi have made a mark in T20 leagues across the globe, Hazratullah Zazai and Noor Ali Zadran have made a mark at the international level. Hence, the Shpageeza Cricket League is expected to strengthen Afghanistan’s white-ball teams even further.