14th June will be a momentous day for Afghanistan cricket as they are going to make their Test debut against India at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
On the eve of the historic day, India’s honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed Afghanistan's decision to play their debut Test against India as a matter of great pride.
On Wednesday (June 13), the official Twitter account of Indian Embassy in Afghanistan posted PM Modi’s letter to the Afghan cricket team on Twitter with a caption: “Special message from @PMOIndia on the occasion of the historic debut of #Afghanistan @ACBofficials in the test arena against @BCCI tomorrow at #Bengaluru. #INDvsAFG @BCCISportsTv #Cricket”.
Special message from @PMOIndia on the occasion of the historic debut of #Afghanistan @ACBofficials in the test arena against @BCCI tomorrow at #Bengaluru. #INDvsAFG @BCCISportsTv #Cricket pic.twitter.com/w7Mr37W83y
— India in Afghanistan (@IndianEmbKabul) June 13, 2018
"It is a matter of great pride and immense pleasure that Afghanistan has chosen to play its maiden Test match with India," Modi’s letter stated.
In June 2017, Afghanistan along with Ireland, who already played their maiden Test against Pakistan last month, were granted Test status by the International Cricket Council.
Hailing Afghanistan’s cricketing journey, the Indian Prime Minister wrote: “The young and talented Afghan national team has made great strides in a very short period of time. After becoming the affiliate member of the International Cricket Council in 2001, it achieved the test playing status last year. During that journey, it has consistently performed against other ICC full members and test playing nations, recording milestone victories over them in various formats of the game.”
"Today, cricket is a unifying force for the people of Afghanistan. India takes pride in being shoulder-to-shoulder with Afghanistan in this journey. It is an honour for India to host the Afghan national team at home ground in Greater Noida and Dehradun," the letter further added.
Afghanistan’s Test Squad against India:
Mohammad Shahzad, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Stanikzai (c), Afsar Zazai (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Yamin Ahmadzai, Wafadar, Sayed Shirzad, Zahir Khan, Ihsanullah Janat, Amir Hamza, Nasir Jamal
