Zimbabwe cricketers may or may not play in Afghan T20 league

After a huge truck bomb explosion on May 31 in Kabul, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) are still unsure about the participation of Zimbabwe cricketers in Afghanistan‘s Shpageeza Cricket League, which will begin in July. As per reports, the sports and recreation commission in Zimbabwe has not yet taken a final call on whether to send their players for the T20 league amidst the security situation the Afghanistan capital.

The 2017 season of the Afghanistan Shpageeza Cricket League is the fifth edition of the T20 tournament, which was first played in 2013. The tournament will feature the six teams that played in the previous season. It will begin on 18 July 2017 and will end on 28 July. Kabul will host the opening game and the final.

“Normally, we approve trips on the blessing of the national association and also the international federation the national association is affiliated to,” Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) director-general, Joseph Muchechetere was quoted as saying by Fox Sports on Friday.

Won’t compromise on safety 

He also said they will not compromise on the safety of their players and if they feel the concern is very serious, they will not go ahead. “In this case, ordinarily we will require Zimbabwe Cricket and the ICC to provide their firm word. But where we feel there is a serious concern for the safety of our sportsmen, we take the matter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which then makes the final decision on the basis of security reasons,” Joseph said.

Zimbabwe cricketers Solomon Mire, Hamilton Masakadza, Sean Williams, and Sikandar Raza all went under the hammer for Afghanistan’s domestic T20 league. Among the other countries to play the league are cricketers from Pakistan, Bangladesh and the West Indies. The competition is a premier T20 contest in the country.