Afghanistan Cricket Board have come to a five-year mutual agreement with the Emirates Cricket Board, which will see the two nation's cricket teams play against each other annually in three T20I contests. The Afghanistan cricket team will play their home fixtures at UAE's world-class venues, while the Emirates board will also provide the Afghanistan team with logistic support.
In return, the UAE side will gain much-needed exposure, as they continue to take steps to become a cricketing superpower. UAE also hosted the Asia Cup 2022, but failed to reach the group stage of the competition.
They also competed at the T20 World Cup qualifiers, but again failed to make it beyond the qualifying rounds. In order to gain exposure, they have struck an agreement with Afghanistan who have become one of the rising superpowers in the world of cricket.
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However, the Afghanistan team have been forced to play their home fixtures outside of their country due to logistic issues, lack of world-class infrastructure, and security concerns.
They have previously played their home games in Sharjah, from 2010-16, followed by Greater Noida (2017) and Dehradun (2018-19). However, the agreement with UAE would enable Afghanistan to play their home fixtures at UAE's world-class infrastructure venues.
Also, the Emirates Cricket Board will provide valuable logistic support to the Afghanistan Cricket Board, including visa assistance and office space.
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In an official statement, Naseeb Khan, CEO, Afghanistan Cricket Board, acknowledged the cooperation between both countries and expressed his confidence that this agreement will be fruitful, and serve to greatly benefit future goals and ambitions.
"Both the Emirates and Afghanistan Cricket Boards enjoy long, cordial relations, and we are happy to support the ACB in ensuring that they have a home for their cricket."
"We are also thankful to Afghanistan Cricket Board for agreeing to play T20 internationals against UAE Team each year. This will provide our UAE team with the invaluable exposure and help in their development," said Mubashshir Usmani, General Secretary, Emirates Cricket Board.
With inputs from IANS
