Green sign from Taliban; Afghanistan board eyes Australia, India excursions

In a sign that the brand new Taliban regime in Afghanistan might permit sporting occasions to go forward, a prime official of the Afghan cricket board informed The Indian Express Wednesday that the staff’s tour of Australia this yr, which is able to embody the first-ever Test between the 2 nations, has obtained the inexperienced sign.
According to Hamid Shinwari, chief govt officer of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), there’s additionally the potential for the staff visiting India for a Test collection subsequent yr.
“The Taliban government has been supporting cricket and all our cricket will be held as per schedule. A spokesperson of the Taliban Cultural Commission communicated to us that Taliban will be supporting the Test match against Australia followed by a Test series against India in the first quarter of 2022,” Shinwari stated.
The Test towards Australia is to be performed in Hobart between November 27 and December 1. It was initially scheduled for final yr earlier than the Covid pandemic and journey restrictions prevented it from being staged.
Before the Australia tour, Afghanistan will characteristic within the T20 World Cup within the UAE from October 17-November 15. However, a bilateral ODI collection towards Pakistan has been postponed until subsequent yr.
“They (Taliban) are supporting cricket and we have got the green signal from them. It’s a clear message to the youth that they will support sports. That is the best sign,” Shinwari stated.
However, when requested about the way forward for ladies’s cricket, Shinwari stated: “We don’t know at the moment. The government will decide on it.”
The Afghan nationwide males’s staff was fashioned after the Taliban had been overthrown in 2001. Subsequently, the staff made speedy progress and had been granted full-member Test standing by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2017.
Last yr, the ACB handed central contracts to 25 ladies cricketers. But now, if the ladies’s staff is disbanded, it might threaten the nation’s standing within the governing physique.
Shinwari stated that a number of different worldwide assignments had been within the conceptual stage. “We are working for a T20 tri-series, which will feature Afghanistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka. Most probably, it will be held in UAE before the T20 World Cup. We will have a camp, most probably in Qatar, for our national team before the tri-series,” he stated.
The CEO stated home cricket tournaments can even start quickly. “We will be playing a one-day tournament with all our provinces. We call it List A Tournament. We will be starting it soon in our country and it will be aired worldwide,” he stated.
Earlier, days after Taliban swept to energy, Shinwari had stated the cricket had widespread acceptance in Afghanistan. “The beauty of cricket is that it is loved by everyone. Be it any situation. Since the last 20 years, we have been getting support from all factions of the society including Taliban. We don’t see any harm for the cricketers, we haven’t witnessed one casualty in the past 20 years. I don’t see any problem with the sports, particularly with cricket,” he had stated.