India helping us more than Pak: Afghan board CEO

Press Trust of India  |  New Delhi 

Not disregarding the initial support given by Pakistan, Board Shafiq says the BCCI has played a bigger role in the rapid rise of the game in the strife-torn nation. cricketers trained a lot in in their formative years and some of them even picked up the sport in refugee camps on the other side of the border. The team from the war-ravaged nation even made its T20 and ODI debut against The side has come a long way since then, regularly playing in ICC world events before earning their Test status last June. feels Afghanistan's growth has been faster ever since they made Greater Noida their home ground in 2015. "role has really been immense. Since we moved to the team has done well. The conditions in are suiting the team quite well. the support we receive from BCCI has bee instrumental," told Asked how he would compare India's role to in his team's growth, said: "In we trained a lot in initial stages. Their (PCB) support was also tremendous. "But since we moved to India, we have achieved big. We were associates and playing in a lower tier when practising in Since we moved to we are performing well. We have reached a stage where we are playing with the best." "So, comparatively, it is bigger. Financially it is helping us quite a lot.

It is cost effective in comparison to playing in UAE. Conditions wise too it is good. It is easy to convince other boards to come and play in So, from different perspective, it is better to play in India," said the Fittingly, would be playing their maiden Test in Bengaluru from June 14 to 18. The ACB is also close to getting a second home ground in India, most likely in Dehradun. It is also in talks with the BCCI for facilitating junior tours. "I have requested the BCCI and they have agreed to support us in junior (U17, emerging and A teams). Integrate education as well with tours. In principle, we are in agreement. We need to work on the composition of the competition," he said. Afghan players in the too have helped spread the sport's popularity in the country. Last year, and became the first two players from to be bought at an auction. "played a huge role in getting the game popular back home. We don't have just one Rashid Khan, we have so many in every part of the country," he added.

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First Published: Sun, January 21 2018. 20:05 IST