Taliban gives a go-ahead to Afghanistan’s Test series against India in 2022

In a recent development, the Taliban has given a green signal to Afghanistan’s tour of Australia later this year followed by a Test series against India in the first quarter of 2022. Even as the game versus the Aussies is already scheduled from November 27 to December 1 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart, nothing concrete has come to the fore regarding the India tour.

The match against Australia was scheduled to be played last year, but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A top official from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) put forth the recent development surrounding the upcoming tours. Hamid Shinwari, the chief executive officer of the ACB, also talked about the tour of India.

“The Taliban government has been supporting cricket and all our cricket will be held as per schedule. A spokesperson of the Taliban Cultural Commission communicated to us that the Taliban will be supporting the Test match against Australia followed by a Test series against India in the first quarter of 2022,” Shinwari was quoted as saying in the Indian Express.

India and Afghanistan have faced each other in only one Test back in 2018 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Taliban are supporting cricket: Hamid Shinwari

Shinwari also talked about the Taliban backing cricket to the best of their abilities. Before the red-ball games, the Afghans will take part in the T20 World Cup to be played in the UAE in October-November.

“They (Taliban) are supporting cricket and we have got the green signal from them. It’s a clear message to the youth that they will support sports. That is the best sign,” he stated.

However, he stayed unsure about the future of women’s cricket in Afghanistan. “We don’t know at the moment. The government will decide on it,” Shinwari mentioned.

The Afghans are also planning for a triangular series as a part of the preparatory process for the multi-nation tournament in the UAE.

“We are working for a T20 tri-series, which will feature Afghanistan, West Indies, and Sri Lanka. Most probably, it will be held in UAE before the T20 World Cup. We will have a camp, most probably in Qatar, for our national team before the tri-series,” he added.