Diplomatist Magazine DIplomatist September 2018 | Page 85

SPECIAL REPORT
the Indian Premier League, which will increase
in the coming years,” Choudhary said.
Welcoming the announcement, the Afghan
cricket team captain, Asghar Stanikzai’s said,
“It is great news for Afghanistan cricket
that BCCI has announced that each team
touring Indi a will play us fi rst. It is good for
our cricket. The format doesn’t matter; what
matters is that we will play more games and
get the right exposure. It is also great for the
people of Afghanistan, as they really love the
game. Special thanks to the BCCI for this
announcement.”
Following this announcement, India hosted
Afghanistan in their historic fi rst ever Test
match in Bengaluru from June 14-18, 2018.
Despite India winning the match comfortably,
Afghanistan fi nally made its debut in test cricket.
With promising players like Mohammad Nabi,
Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Yamin Ahmadzai and
Hashmatullah Sahidi, Afghanistan certainly
has the potential to emerge as a top ranking
cricketing nation in the future.
Moreover, the newly-built Greater Noida
cricket stadium has emerged as the adopted
In addition to the
new stadium in
Greater Nodia,
the Afghan team
has been alloted
a second home
ground for training
in Dehradun,
where it hosted
Bangladesh in the
fi rst of a three-
match T20 series in
June this year.
home ground for Afghanistan’s cricketers after
they shifted their base from the UAE, where
they were earlier training. A Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed
between the BCCI and the Afghanistan Cricket
Board (ACB) in 2015 at the Constitution Club
in New Delhi. Since then, India has become
the long-term training ground for the Afghan
national cricket team.
Acknowledging the Indian role in the
growth of Afghan cricket, ACB CEO Shafi q
Stanikzai stated in an interview recently that,
“BCCI’s role has really been immense. Since
we moved to India, the team has done well. The
conditions in India suit the team quite well. The
support we have received from the BCCI has
been instrumental.”
Talking specifi cally of the team’s move
to India from the UAE, Stanikzai added,
“comparatively, it [staidum in India] is bigger.
Financially, it is helping us quite a lot. It is cost
effective in comparison to playing in the UAE.”
In addition to the new stadium in Greater
Nodia, the Afghan team has been alloted a
second home ground for training in Dehradun,
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 9 • September 2018, Noida • 85