Afghanistan aims for international cricket at home with new stadium in Kabul

The rise of Afghanistan cricket and its cricketers has been phenomenal with national players getting worldwide recognition owing to their exceptional performances in international cricket. The fearless brand of cricket played by Afghan cricketers has seen the likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb ur Rehman making a name for themselves in franchise cricket around the world.  

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Despite the worldwide recognition, Afghan cricketers have never played international cricket in front of their home fans. The team played their matches first in Sharjah (2010-16) following which they had their adopted home ground in India in Greater Noida (2017) and Dehradun (2018-19). After Dehradun, Afghanistan cricket team will now play their home matches at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

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Afghanistan to have new cricket stadium in Kabul

While India is currently the adopted home for Afghanistan cricket team, the national side will soon get a chance to play their matches in front of their home fans with Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) now securing land for a new state-of-the-art stadium in Kabul.

ACB in its tweet has confirmed that Afghanistan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has allocated 120,000 square metres of land in Alo Khail area for the construction of the stadium. According to a statement released by the board, the stadium will be as per international standards and will include a five-star guest house, a standard swimming pool, indoor and outdoor academies, canopies for the crowd, health clinic, mosque, car parking, administrative block and other such facilities. The stadium will have a capacity to host 35,000 spectators, including designated places for families.

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ACB Chairman Farhan Yusefzai has thanked the president over his decision. He said that the Afghanistan President has always supported the development of cricket and encouraged players. He also said that after initial formalities, the construction of the stadium will also commence and that they will ensure it is done with the best quality. 

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Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi make a slow start in BBL 2020

After taking part in Dream11 IPL 2020 in UAE recently, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi are currently playing in the Big Bash League 2020 in Australia. So far, Khan has picked up three wickets from three matches while playing for the Adelaide Strikers. Nabi who is a handy allrounder has played just one match for the Melbourne Renegades scoring just 14 runs. He is yet to pick up wickets in the tournament.

Image: Afghanistan Cricket / Twitter