Taliban approves Afghanistan's first Test since takeover; team to travel to Australia

With the US formally withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, the majority of the war-torn nation is under the control of the Taliban. Prior to the announcement of government formation, the Taliban has approved the first Test tour of Afghanistan. As per local media reports, ACB president Hamid Shinwari announced that the Afghanistan Cricket Board will send its team on a tour to Australia.

Reportedly, the Test match would take place from November 27 to December 1 and would be Afghanistan's first Test in Australia. Shinwari also announced that Afghanistan's Under-19 team will tour Bangladesh for a bilateral series this month. 

Notably, the country's cricket board CEO Hamid Shinwari had said that the Taliban 'love' and 'support' the game following the takeover of the headquarters in Kabul earlier in August. 

Speaking on the impact of the current scenario on Afghanistan cricket, Shinwari said, "The Taliban love cricket. They have supported us since the beginning. They did not interfere in our activities. I don't see any interference and expect support so that our cricket can move forward. We have got an active chairman, and I remain CEO until further notice."

Afghanistan tour to Pakistan postponed?

Hamid Shinwari, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) CEO, on Friday said that the board is looking to hold a camp in either Qatar or Abu Dhabi before the T20 World Cup. He also said that the series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka might have gotten postponed till 2022, but the board is hopeful of hosting a tri-series with Australia and West Indies before the showpiece event.

"We had to play with Pakistan and Sri Lanka but due to unavailability of flights, we had to postpone it to 2022. We are about to play a tri-series against West Indies and Australia before the T20 World Cup. Our team is preparing for it. After the agreement with Australia and West Indies, we will conduct the series," Shinwari told ANI.

"The T20 World Cup is an important event and Afghanistan is considered one of the favourite teams at the event. We would like to hold a camp for the T20 World Cup after the tri-series if we have time. It is worth mentioning that players like Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman and are important for our squad," he added.

Talking about the camp before the World Cup, Shinwari said: "It will be decided if you remember due to the recent pandemic across the globe, the World Cup has been shifted to the UAE. We will try to have our camp in Qatar or Abu Dhabi, so let's see. Afterward, we will be participating in the mega event."

(Image Credits: AP/Twitter)