Afghanistan eye cricket at home after commissioning of new stadium

 The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is eyeing to host international cricket in their backyard after securing land for a new stadium in Kabul. Afghanistan president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Sunday allocated 12000 square meters of land in Alokhail area of Kabul for the construction of a state-of-the-art stadium that will be known as the Kabul International Stadium.

Though it is not clear how long it will take for ACB to complete the construction but their president Farhan Yusefzai is confident that it will be a major step towards hosting international cricket at home.

''With the construction of this ground, we will be able to host international cricket and our people will watch international players playing at their ground in the centre of the capital Kabul,'' ACB president Farhan Yusefzai told Cricbuzz.

''Kabul will be home to a standard state-of-the-art international cricket stadium. I express my special thanks to Mr. President who has always supported the development of cricket and encouraged our players. After initial formalities, the construction of the stadium will also commence and we will ensure it is done with best quality,'' he said.

The stadium will include a five-star guest house, a standard swimming pool, indoor and outdoor academies, canopies for crowd, health clinic, mosque, car parking, administrative block and other such facilities while the stadium will have a capacity to host 35,000 spectators.

ACB officials said that there are stadiums in Kabul, Khost, Nangarhar, Paktya, Kunduz, Kandahar, Logar, Wardak, Kunar and Lagman with some of them still under construction while there are private grounds in some provinces.

''This stadium (Kabul International Stadium) will have all the facilities that is available at the venues of Australia, England and other leading cricketing nations,'' said the official.

In 2019, Afghanistan's adopted home ground in India was shifted from Dehradun to the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow for international fixtures in all formats. Before that, they had had a home base in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.