Cricket in Afghanistan

Cricket in Afghanistan
CountryAfghanistan
National team(s)Afghanistan
International competitions
The Afghanistan national cricket team at the 2010 ICC WCL Division One in Rotterdam, Netherlands

Cricket in Afghanistan is the most popular sport in the country,[1] which is represented internationally by the Afghanistan national cricket team. Afghanistan's border with the Test playing nation of Pakistan has helped the game to take root. Pakistan's former batsman Inzamam ul Haq has coached the Afghan national team in the past. Afghanistan became a full member of the International Cricket Council on 22 June 2017, enabling the national team to participate in official Test matches.

Afghanistan's playing season runs from May to September. There are 320 cricket clubs and 6 turf wickets in Afghanistan.[2] In February 2017 the International Cricket Council (ICC) awarded first-class status to Afghanistan's four-day domestic competition.[3] They also granted List A status to their existing Twenty20 domestic competition, as Afghanistan did not have a domestic 50-over tournament.[4][5] In May 2017 however, the ICC recognised the 50-over Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament by granting it List A status.[6]

  1. ^ "Women's Cricket: Afghanistan's Secretive New Sport". Time. 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Profile of Afghanistan". Asian Cricket Council. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Big-Three rollback begins, BCCI opposes". ESPN Cricinfo. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  4. ^ "Afghanistan domestic competitions awarded first-class and List A status". ESPN Cricinfo. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  5. ^ "In Principle Agreement to Constitutional and Financial Changes to ICC". International Cricket Council. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  6. ^ "ICC Recognizes Afghanistan's Domestic ODI Tournament As List A League". Bakhtar News. Retrieved 9 August 2017.