Afghanistan Team. (Photo Source: ACB/Twitter)
Afghanistan cricket considers India as their second home as India hosted them for a One-Off Test and their players are frequent features in the lucrative Indian Premier League. The bond was further strengthened when the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) allotted several venues across India for them to have international games against other nations.
In one such initiative, Afghanistan will host New Zealand in a Test scheduled to be played at Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida, in September this year. For the unversed, Australia have pulled out from playing bilateral cricket with Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country in 2021. The move came as the new government forced females to not participate in any sport and New Zealand’ upcoming fixture against Afghanistan has provided a whole new perspective as per the TOI (Times of India) report. The Kiwis will be playing three Tests against Afghanistan in October and November with India as the platform.
It was earlier reported that BCCI has allotted three home venues for Afghanistan, namely in Greater Noida, Kanpur, and Lucknow. The upcoming game against the Black Caps will see the team returning to Noida after a hiatus of four years. They were supposed to host Bangladesh for a white-ball series in July but the fixtures were postponed due to intense heat in North India. A source highlighted BCCI’s efforts and recognised their support for a hapless cricketing country.
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“Soon after the change in Kabul in 2021, when the Taliban took over, the BCCI was the first cricket board to support Afghanistan,” a source said.
Afghanistan’s emergence as cricketing nation
Afghanistan have had a splendid emergence at the international level as their World Cup 2023 outing was nothing short of spectacular. They managed to beat England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka to make a statement on the global stage. They went one step further in the T20 World Cup 2024 as they outclassed Australia and New Zealand to reach the semifinals of the tournament.