The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has confirmed that they will participate in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in UAE. The tournament will kickstart on October 17, with the finals on November 14.
Due to the current crisis in Afghanistan, there was confusion regarding their participation in the marquee event. However, Afghanistan Cricket Team’s media manager, Hikmat Hassan stated that the preparations for the tournament are on.
“Yes, we will play in the T20 World Cup. The preparations are on and the available players will be back to training in Kabul in the next few days. We are looking for a venue for the tri-series involving Australia and West Indies and that will be the best preparation for the showpiece event. We are speaking to some countries like Sri Lanka and also I think Malaysia. Let’s see how that pans out,” Hassan said as quoted by the ANI.
Afghanistan will play T20 World Cup, preparations are on: Media manager
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“We are already set to play Pakistan in Hambantota and that series is also on. Also, we are planning to go ahead with the domestic T20 tournament which shall boost preparations for the players ahead of the T20 World Cup,” he further added.
We are always there to help our cricketers: Afghanistan media manager
On asked if the board has spoken with Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi as they are not in the country, Hassan said,
“We are always there to help our players and their families. We will do whatever is possible for them. Things are not affected much in Kabul, we are already back in the office, so there is nothing to worry about.”
Afghanistan is in Group two along with India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and the other two teams from the qualifiers. Eight teams, including automatic qualifiers Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, will compete in the qualifiers round.
