Afghanistan Cricket Board’s CEO Hamid Shinwari has stated that the Taliban loves cricket and is unlikely to interfere in the country’s cricketing matter. He said that the Taliban will continue to support the game’s development. According to the AFG CEO, Afghanistan players will be allowed to play in the IPL. Taliban have entered Afghanistan’s capital Kabul and taken over the presidential palace after President Ashraf Ghani left the country.
“We don’t see any cricketing activity suffering from the change of regime. Taliban loves cricket. They have supported us since the beginning. They did not interfere in our activities. I don’t see any interference and expect support so that our cricket can move forward. We have got an active chairman, I remain board CEO until further notice,” said Hamid Shinwari
“Taliban loves cricket, our players will play in the IPL 2021”
Currently, three players of Afghanistan – Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb are playing in the ‘Hundred’ tournament in the UK. So, with the ongoing conditions in Afghanistan, there was a huge question mark on Afganistan’s player’s availability in IPL 2021. But Afganistan board has confirmed that players have got NOCs from the board to take part in the IPL.
“It can be said that cricket flourished during the Taliban era. It is also a fact that many of our players practiced in Peshawar. And they made the sport mainstream in Afghanistan. The good thing is that we are heading towards normalcy. The people have started working. We will resume our office from tomorrow. And the national camp which was underway ahead of the Pakistan series in Sri Lanka will also resume after a two-day break with the change in regime,” said Shinwari.
Talking about the player’s safety, he said: “Other than four or five players who are playing overseas the rest are all in Kabul. As I said, they are safe and doing fine.”
Rashid Khan worried, can’t get his family out of Afghanistan
Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen has said that Rashid Khan is worried about the situation in Afghanistan and cannot get his family out of the country.
“There’s a lot of things that are happening at home. We had a long chat here on the boundary talking about it and he’s worried. He can’t get his family out of Afghanistan. And there’s a lot of things happening for him.” Pietersen told Sky Sports. (https://blogs.20minutos.es/)
“For him to turn up and put on a performance like this under the pressure that he is currently under. For him to be able to forget that stuff and navigate his story and continue the momentum that he has. I think that’s probably one of the most heartwarming stories of this Hundred so far.”
