Afghanistan will play T20 World Cup, preparations are on, claims media manager

With an eye on the current turmoil in Afghanistan, questions have been raised on whether the team will participate in the upcoming T20 World Cup. But the Afghanistan Cricket Board has made it clear that the team will be ready for action when the showpiece event gets underway in Dubai. Speaking to ANI, the Afghanistan cricket team's media manager, Hikmat Hassan, said there is no doubt about participating in the T20 World Cup, and the board is keen to go ahead with a tri-series involving Australia and West Indies to help in preparations for the showpiece event.

"Yes, we will play in the T20 World Cup. The preparations are on and the available players will be back to training in Kabul in the next few days. We are looking for a venue for the tri-series involving Australia and West Indies and that will be the best preparation for the showpiece event. We are speaking to some countries like Sri Lanka and also I think Malaysia. Let's see how that pans out.

"We are already set to play Pakistan in Hambantota and that series is also on. Also, we are planning to go ahead with the domestic T20 tournament which shall boost preparations for the players ahead of the T20 World Cup," Hassan said.

Asked if the board officials had a word with Rashid Khan or Mohammad Nabi as they are not in the country at present, he said: "We are always there to help our players and their families. We will do whatever is possible for them. Things are not affected much in Kabul, we are already back in the office, so there is nothing to worry about."

Afghanistan crisis

Flight operations from around the world are affected at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International (HKI) airport due to the ongoing turmoil in Afghanistan. Taliban terrorists are assuming control of the Afghan capital of Kabul and have taken control of the presidential palace after the country's president Ashraf Ghani left for Tajikistan.

Last week, Rashid Khan had taken to his official Twitter handle and had put the world leaders on notice by saying his motherland, i.e. Afghanistan, is in chaos and that thousands of innocent people, including children and women, are getting martyred every day and apart from all these things, the houses and properties have been destructed as well which has displaced thousands of families.

"Don’t leave us in chaos. Stop killing Afghans & destroying Afghanistan. We want peace", Rashid Khan's tweet read.

Submit T20 World Cup squad by September 10: ICC

All boards must send their final T20 World Cup squads by September 10. The governing body of world cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) ICC, will let teams make last-minute alterations to their rosters up to five days before the start of quarantine. The T20 World Cup, which will be contested for the first time since 2016, will take place in Oman and three UAE cities: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah, from October 17 to November 14. The qualifying competition, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Ireland, will take place until September 23. Four teams will advance to the Super-12 stage, which kicks off on September 24.

(With ANI Inputs)

Image Credit: @ACBofficials