Afghanistan Cricket Board looking to hold camp in Qatar or Abu Dhabi ahead of T20 World Cup
ACB is looking forward to hold camp in the Middle East ahead of T20 World Cup
|ACB CEO, Hamid Shinwari, stated that the board is looking to hold camp either in Abu Dhabi or Qatar, ahead of the T20 WC which is scheduled to begin from October 17. He added that the board is hopeful of playing a tri-series with Australia and West Indies before the marquee event.
After the postponement of Sri Lanka and Australia series untill 2022, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) CEO Hamid Shinwari has said that the board is looking forward to holding a camp ahead of the T20 World Cup in UAE. ACB plans to hold the camp in Abu Dhabi or Qatar keeping in the view the T20 World Cup which was shifted from India to the UAE and Oman due to Covid-19 situatuions.Â
Earlier, the series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka were postponed till 2022, citing Afghanistan cricketers’ mental health issues and disruption of flight operations in Kabul. The ACB CEO stated that the board is hopeful of playing a tri-series with Australia and West Indies before the T20 World Cup.
Talking about the camp before the World Cup, Shinwari told ANI, “It will be decided if you remember due to the recent pandemic across the globe, the World Cup has been shifted to the UAE. We will try to have our camp in Qatar or Abu Dhabi, so let’s see. Afterwards, we will be participating in the mega event.”
"We had to play with Pakistan and Sri Lanka but due to unavailability of flights, we had to postpone it to 2022. We are about to play a tri-series against West Indies and Australia before the T20 World Cup. Our team is preparing for it. After the agreement with Australia and West Indies, we will conduct the series," Shinwari added.
The CEO added that Afghanistan are one among the favorites of T20 World Cup in UAE and players like Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are important players in the squad.
"The T20 World Cup is an important event and Afghanistan is considered one of the favorite teams at the event. We would like to hold a camp for the T20 World Cup after the tri-series if we have time. It is worth mentioning that players like Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman are important for our squad," he added.
The ACB CEO also confirmed that the board has given a green signal to the Afghanistan players to take part in the IPL by issuing NOC's.
"We have given them NOCs, they will be participating in the IPL. It is an important event before the T20 World Cup, we are optimistic our team will have successful results," he added.
Shinwari thanked BCCI for all its support towards ACB and the players, and he also stated that the Afghanistan cricket team is an excellent ambassador for the country.
"We have been in communication with different boards, we always receive good support from BCCI, be it ground availability or support towards our team at different levels. This game brings peace and happiness to our country, particularly the youth. Our team is an excellent ambassador for the country, therefore people love it. We are thankful to the full members of the ICC for their support," said Shinwari
