The Green Afghanistan One Day Cup is a domestic cricket event introduced by the Afghanistan Cricket Board to enhance the quality of the game and promote the cultivation of plants and greenery in the country.
The inaugural edition was held in May 2022 in Khost province, and the 2nd edition is currently underway in Khost province.
The event is being held in a One Day format and is being conducted on a double round-robin basis where all the participating teams play the others twice before the top two teams advance to the final. The event features all available national players who are using the tournament to prepare for upcoming international matches. In order to promote young cricketers, all teams also include some of the best young players who are part of the ACB’s emerging and development programs.
The First Edition of the event was a big success. This was held in May 2022 between three teams and it played an instrumental role in the national team’s preparations ahead of the Zimbabwe Tour, which resulted in a 3-0 ODI series win as well as a 3-0 win in the T20I series.
Hindukush Strikers, led by Najibullah Zadran, beat Pamir Legends in the Final of last year’s cup to clinch the inaugural Green Afghanistan One Day Cup title.
Shahidullah Kamal who had scored 271 runs at an average of 67.75 including 3 half-centuries during the tournament was awarded top batsman of the tournament. The left-arm spinner Zia Akbar who had taken 14 wickets at a bowling average of 12 runs, was awarded as the best bowler of the event.
Sediqullah Atal was awarded as the emerging player of the event, while Ibrahim Zadran, who had scored 254 runs with a century and a half-century to his name was declared the best player of the tournament.
Super Cola Green Afghanistan One Day Cup 2023: The event’s 2nd Edition
The Second Edition of the Green Afghanistan One-Day Cup began on April 29 in Khost province. The event features four teams and aims to promote the cultivation of plants in the country while also serving as preparation for the AfghanAtalan’s (the national team’s) international events.
For this year’s event, the ACB has added a team of National U19 players, known as Junior Champions, to help them get match time against their senior counterparts and to better prepare for their international assignments.
The tournament is being played in a one-day format and a total of 13 games will be played over 19 days. All four teams will face each other twice in a double round-robin format followed by a final on May 17.
ACB CEO Naseeb Khan was delighted with the commencement of the 2nd edition of the event and stated that the first edition of the Green Afghanistan One Day Cup was a big success and was largely welcomed by fans and spectators in the country. “The tournament was significant in preparing AfghanAtalan for Afghanistan’s tour of Zimbabwe, where they won both the Super League ODIs and the T20I series 3-0,” he said.
Teams’ Names Definition:
Hindukush Strikers: The Name Hindukush is inspired by the famous mountain range, which stretches from Afghanistan into South Asian countries and is regarded as a significant geological feature that has influenced the culture and history of the region. The team is named Hindukush Strikers, with inspiration from this majestic mountain range which is incorporated into its logo design.
Pamir Legends: The Pamir name is derived from the Pamir Mountains, one of the highest mountain ranges in the world. A portion of the range is situated in Afghanistan’s northeast province of Badakhshan and served as a crossroad for trade and cultural exchange between different communities over the centuries.
Maiwand Defenders: Maiwand is a district located in Kandahar province and is famous for the historic battle during the 2nd Anglo-Afghan War in 1880 that occurred there and resulted in a decisive victory for the Afghan fighters. Maiwand is considered a symbol of resistance and bravery in Afghan history, thus, the team, Maiwad Defenders, is named after it.
Junior Champions: Junior Champions refers to Afghanistan’s U19 Team participating in the Green Afghanistan One Day Cup 2023.
Squads:
Hindukush Strikers: Najibullah Zadran (C), Ibrahim Zadran, Ihsan Janat, Usman Ghani, Shabir Noori, Khalid Zahidi, Darwish Rasooli, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat, AbdulRahman, Hamza Hotak, Khalil Gurbaz, Mujeeb Zadran, Nijat Masoud, Zia Sharifi, Dawlat Zadran and Waqarullah Ishaq.
Pamir Legends: Rahmat Shah (C), Riaz Hassan, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Shahidullah Kamal, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Shawkat Zaman, Ahmad Zahir, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Tahir Adil, Zahir Khan, Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai, Fareed Ahmad, Abdul Baqi and Sayed Ahmad Shirzad.
Maiwand Defenders: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Noor Ali Zadran, Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Nasir Jamal, Samiullah Shinwari, Ikram Alikhil, Hayatullah Nasiri, Bahar Ali, Nangyal Kharoti, Qais Ahmad, Azmatullah Omarzai, Zia Akbar, Yamin Ahmadzai, Aftab Alam and Wafadar Momand.
Junior Champions: Mohammad Haroon (C), Sohail Khan, Suliman Arabzai, Hizbullah Durrani, Kamran Hotak, Mohammad Haroon, Noman Shah, Khalid Taniwall, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Akram Mohammadzai, Jamshid Zadran, Ali Ahmad, Nasir Hassan, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Gul Zar Khan, Nasir Khan, Bashir Ahmad, Fraidon Dawoodzai, Yama Arab, Khalil Ahmad and Jameel Shinwari.
