New ground, cricket beyond Kabul; Afghanistan cricket moves ahead

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) took the first step in building an international class cricket stadium as it started the installation of fence and delineated the boundary at Kabul's Alokhil Stadium.

“Boundary delineation & fence installation at Kabul's Alokhil Stadium started post land clearance. A foreign company will handle its engineering which will be followed by the commencement of its primary construction, with the entire project expected to be completed in five years,” the ACB posted on X (formerly called Twitter).

The stadium is expected to have capacity of 30,000-40,000 fans and could host an international match over the next 4-5 years as per preliminary plans.

The stadium complex will include a hotel, health centre, mosques among other facilities.   

As per media reports, the Administrative Commission of the Prime Minister’s Office has decided to hand over 86 acres of land for free to ACB.

An international stadium, with a capacity of 8,000 people, already existed in Kabul earlier. However, no foreign team has travelled to Kabul due to the prevailing situation.

In recent times, there has been a spurt in cricketing activities in Afghanistan.

As many as 39 pitch curators were recently trained and 14-15 coaches were prepared at International Cricket Council’s level 2 and 3. The fees for umpires has also been increased.

The country also witnessed one-day competitions in Khost and Jalalabad. The Green Afghanistan One-day Cup was hosted in Khost while the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament was held in Jalalabad, Nagarhar province. This is the first time that two one-day tournaments were held in Afghanistan. Also, it was the first time that cricket was held in Jalalabad.

The ACB has been trying to take cricket outside Kabul. There are 34 provinces in the country.

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