India to host Afghanistan home games

After the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) requested India to host their home games in early 2015, their requests have been finally accepted. After Pakistan hosting their home games in UAE, the Afghan cricketers have found themselves a new home in Greater Noida in India. Today a MoU was marked between the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority to utilize the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex as their home ground.

According to sources in the BCCI, the ICC has given permission for ODIs and T20Is matches between Associate teams as well as matches between Associates and Full Member A teams. In April 2015, Basheer Stanekzai, the Afghan team’s manager had said, “It will really help our players if India were to reserve a home ground for us. Our players are good; they need exposure and facilities like camps. If the younger ones get to play in India, they can get noticed and picked for IPL teams. Besides, we are also hopeful that the BCCI will help us with technical assistance and infrastructure, which are of international standards.”

This would help in strengthening the relations between the two countries not only on the field but off the field as well. “Afghanistan was quite keen to shift their home base to India for some time now and it has been BCCI’s vision to expand the game globally and help associate and affiliate members of ICC, in this direction, we identified this ground and Greater Noida authorities were open and cooperative to offer this ground to Afghanistan Cricket Board. The ICC has inspected the ground and found it eligible to host matches of the associate affiliate teams, Under-19, and A sides. However, it needs to meet a few more requirements for hosting an ICC-event match, Greater Noida authorities have ensured us that they will deliver in quick-time so that Afghanistan cricket board can host their future international matches at this ground in Noida,” said BCCI honorary secretary Anurag Thakur.

Adding to this historic moment Shafiq Stanikzai, the CEO of the ACB said, “I am grateful to BCCI and particularly Mr. Anurag Thakur for offering us a home base in India, This is a historical day for Afghanistan cricket and this will strengthen the relationship between two countries. We were trying for this for the last few years and finally we have succeeded. I am sure that in future we would be able to host full members’ national teams on this ground as well. I would also like to thank Greater Noida Authorities for all assistance they have provided to us.”