Spin Char Tigers

Nickname: Speenghar Tigers

Team Country: Afghanistan

Team City: Kabul

Team Administrator: Paragon Group

Founded (Year): 2013

Home Ground: Ghazi Amanullah International Cricket Stadium, Jalalabad

Coach: Riaz Afridi

Captain: Shafiqullah

Forms of Cricket: First-Class Limited Overs Twenty20

Spin Char Tigers: a review of the club

This club became the first champion of the Shpageeza Cricket League, winning in 2013. The Spin Ghar Tigers won their second trophy in 2015. The name of the club comes from the Spin Ghar mountain range located in this region. The team represents five provinces located in the east of Afghanistan (based on the country’s capital): Laghman, Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan and Kapisa.

Spin Char Tigers: basic information

The Muslimyar Group owns the club. The head coach of the Spin Char Tigers is Riaz Afridi. He was born in 1985 in Pakistan. Riaz from the sporting dynasty. His cousin Yasir Afridi plays football. His younger sibling was born in 2000. He made his debut for the Pakistan national cricket team at 17. When Riaz Afridi was a player, he was a right-arm medium-fast bowler. In 2007, the current Spin Char Tigers coach signed with the Indian Cricket League, which negatively affected his career with the Pakistani national team. During the summer, Riaz Afridi played frequently in the English Championship for Great Ayton and was the leader of this club for many seasons. After completing his playing career, he soon became the leader of the Spin Char Tigers.

In the Shpageeza Cricket League, the club represents the province of Laghman, which has a population of 493,500. The administrative center is the city of Mihtarlam (population – 144.12 people). During the Afghan War (1979-1989), in which Soviet troops took an active part, many homes and businesses in the region were destroyed. The province is the third largest province in Afghanistan. More than 1.8 million people live here. Jalalabad is the capital of the province. Its population is 356,275 people.

Kunar province has a population of 648,800. It belongs to four provinces marked “N2KL”. These are special zones, which are assigned the control of the United States. The administrative center is Asadabad (population – 48,400 people). Nuristan is one of the smallest provinces in Afghanistan. Only 140,900 people live here. Since 2020, special control has been assigned to the Nuristan territory. Fortunately, we are not talking about martial law but about the protection of local attractions. So, there are many mountain forests and rich biodiversity.

There are no official figures regarding the number of inhabitants in the province of Kapisa. It is estimated that about 364,900 people live there. It can be said for sure that in terms of the occupied area, this is the smallest of the provinces in the country.

In addition to appearances in the Shpageeza Cricket League, Spin Char Tigers are represented in two more tournaments:

• Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament.
• Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament.

Spin Char Tigers: home stadium

The base of the club is Ghazi Amanullah International Cricket Stadium. Construction of the arena began in 2008. The first symbolic foundation stone was laid by Omar Zakhilwal – at that time the president of the Afghanistan Cricket Board and the Minister of Finance of Afghanistan. We managed to agree on the provision of land with the Ghazi Amanullah Town company. The stadium is located in the center of Jalalabad, which is the capital of Nangarhar Province.

There are 14,000 seats at the Ghazi Amanullah International Cricket Stadium. The first match in 2011 was played by the Afghan teams: the national team and under-19.

Spin Char Tigers: Shpageeza Cricket League performance history

After winning in 2013, the Spin Char Tigers faced a disappointment the following season. The club, representing the provinces of Laghman, Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan and Kapisa, finished fifth out of five. In 2015, the team was given the task of rehabilitating themselves for failure, which they did. The Spin Char Tigers lost only one match in the group stage and took first place thanks to four wins. At the start of the playoffs, the Band-e-Amir Dragons was beaten. In the final, the club’s rival was the Kabul Eagles. The match took place in a bitter struggle. The teams shared only five wickets but in favor of the first champion Shpageeza Cricket League.

It is noteworthy that in 2016 the club again had a bad season. The team finished fifth in the regular season, winning just one match. However, this time the team bypassed Boost Defenders. In 2017, the Spin Char Tigers also finished fifth. In the 2019 season, for the first time since 2015, the Spin Char Tigers made the playoffs. True, the club lost in the first match (with a difference of 16 runs). In 2020, the team fought for the playoffs but unsuccessfully played the last matches and again ended up fifth in the standings.

Spin Char Tigers: players

The line-up of the club’s players as of early 2021:

• Najibullah Zadran (retained).
• Qais Ahmad (icon player).
• Aftab Alam.
• Kareem Khan Sadiq.
• Shabeer Noori.
• Fazal Zazai.
• Zahir Khan Pakteen.
• Waheedullah Shafaq.
• Abdullah Adil.
• Nasir Omar.
• Rahmatullah Sahak.
• Parwiz Malikzai.
• Baheer Shah Mahboob.
• Zubaid Akbari.
• Zahir Shehzad.
• Majeeb Alam.

The captain of the Spin Char Tigers is Qais Ahmad, who was born in 2000 in Nangarhar. By role, he is considered a bowler. At the senior level, the player made his debut in 2017, playing in the Shpageeza Cricket League as the Kabul Eagles. In the 2018 season, he joined the Speen Ghar Tigers. In May 2021, Qais Ahmad signed with the Kent County Cricket Club, which competes in the County Championship (teams from England and Wales are represented). Ahmad could be the first Afghan cricketer to make his debut in the County Championship. In the fall, he expects to play again in the Shpageeza Cricket League for Spin Char Tigers.