Shpageeza 2022: Rashid, Gurbaz, Najibullah among players retained by franchises
Two new teams - Pamir Zalmi and Hindukush Stars - have joined the league, making it an eight-team competition this year
ESPNcricinfo staff
14-Jun-2022
The draft, conducted on June 10, ended with 142 players going to the eight different teams • Afghanistan Cricket Board
Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran are among the eight premier Afghanistan players to be retained by their Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL) teams ahead of the upcoming eighth season of the tournament.
In the players' draft for the tournament, conducted on June 10, a total of 142 players, national and uncapped, were drafted in five categories by the franchises, now numbering eight after the addition of two new franchises.
The players retained ahead of the draft - apart from Rashid (Band-e-Amir Dragons), Gurbaz (Kabul Eagles, the defending champions) and Najibullah (Speenghar Tigers) - were Mohammad Shahzad (Mis Ainak Knights), Darwish Rasooli (Amo Sharks) and Samiullah Shinwari (Bost Defenders), while the two new teams, Pamir Zalmi and Hindukush Stars, picked Shapoor Zadran and Hamid Hassan as their retained players respectively.
Of these players, Shahzad was retained in the highest category, Icon, as were ten others: Mohammad Nabi (Kabul Eagles), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Bost Defenders), Hashmatullah Shahidi (Pamir Zalmi), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Hindukush Stars), Usman Ghani (Speenghar Tigers), Hazratullah Zazai (Hindukush Stars), Asghar Afghan (Mis Ainak Knights), Karim Janat (Band-e-Amir Dragons), Ihsanullah Janat (Amo Sharks) and Noor Ali Zadran (Pamir Zalmi).
In addition, two players have been drafted in the Diamond category by each franchise, three in Platinum, four in Golden, and six in the Silver category.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board said in a statement that "it's fine to note that the SCL2022 is expected to be conducted from July 15 to August 2 in Kabul". Kabul Eagles beat Mis Ainak Knights in the final the last time the tournament was played, in 2020, making it their second title, after 2016. Mis Ainak Knights and Speenghar Tigers have also won the tournament twice apiece, while Band-e-Amir Dragons have won it once.