Azizullah Fazli, the newly appointed Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) chairman, will be visiting Pakistan on September 25 (Saturday) to meet with the officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and discuss rescheduling the recently postponed bilateral series which was to be played in Sri Lanka.
The three-match One Day International (ODI) series between Pakistan and Afghanistan was postponed due to logistical problems and a COVID-19 outbreak in Sri Lanka.
Though, after New Zealand and England pulled out of the Pakistan tour, the Taliban is eager to extend a helping hand to their neighbors amidst the threats of facing a boycott due to banning women from playing cricket and other sports.
Afghanistan has steadily risen in international cricket over the past few years, but since the Taliban took over the country, there had been calls to boycott the men’s team after they banned women from playing and even Australia has threatened to cancel one-off Test against the war-torn nation.
As per the regulations under International Cricket Council (ICC), nations who want to participate in international Test matches must have an active women’s team, but the Taliban are yet to announce a policy on women playing sport and declared it as “unnecessary”.
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Well, Fazli denied commenting on the matter but revealed that he will be visiting Pakistan to invite them for the ODI series and interestingly, the ACB chief also wants to visit India and other subcontinent regions to meet cricket board officials to improve Afghanistan cricket.
The ACB chief told AFP over the phone from Kabul, “I am taking a tour of Pakistan from 25 September and then will go to India, Bangladesh, and the United Arab Emirates to meet officials of cricket boards.”
Fazli also revealed that he will meet new PCB chairman Ramiz Raja and “offer to host Pakistan for the series which we were due to play in Sri Lanka in September.”
He signed off by saying, “We are seeking to improve Afghanistan cricket so that will come with cooperation from other countries.”
Reportedly, Raja has also confirmed that Fazli will be in Pakistan on September 25 to discuss the ODI series, which is part of the ICC ODI Super League to qualify for the 2023 World Cup.
Noteworthy, Fazli has earlier also served as the ACB chairman between September 2018 and July 2019.
(With AFP Inputs)
