Afghanistan Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi Seeks Permanent Home Venue in India
Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 8: Afghanistan’s cricket captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, expressed the team’s desire for a permanent home venue in India due to their inability to play international cricket at home. Afghanistan will be playing a one-off Test against New Zealand in Greater Noida on Sunday.
Speaking to the media, Shahidi highlighted the importance of having at least one good venue in India, a country that has significantly contributed to their development. Afghanistan has previously played home Tests in Dehradun, Lucknow, and Abu Dhabi.
Shahidi stated, “If you see, India is our home, and when we host teams, the other nations have played more cricket than us here. So hopefully we will get one good venue here in India, and we stick with that. If we stick with one venue, it will be more effective for us.”
He also mentioned that Afghanistan players have a strong record in first-class cricket because they are familiar with their home conditions. Shahidi hopes that in the future, teams will come to Afghanistan to play, and their cricket board, along with the BCCI, will provide a good venue in India.
Squads
Afghanistan
Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ikram Alikhil (WK), Shahidullah Kamal, Gulbadin Naib, Afsar Zazai (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ziaurrahman Akbar, Shamsurrahman, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Nijat Masoud, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveed Zadran, Khalil Ahmad, Yama Arab.
New Zealand
Tim Southee (C), Tom Blundell (WK), Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (VC), Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Kane Williamson, Will Young.
Doubts Revealed
Hashmatullah Shahidi -: Hashmatullah Shahidi is the captain of the Afghanistan cricket team. He leads the team in international cricket matches.
Permanent home venue -: A permanent home venue is a fixed place where a sports team regularly plays its home games. For Afghanistan, this would mean having a regular stadium in India to play their matches.
Red-ball cricket -: Red-ball cricket refers to the traditional form of cricket, usually played over several days, like Test matches. The red ball is used in these longer formats of the game.
Dehradun -: Dehradun is a city in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It has hosted some of Afghanistan’s home cricket matches.
Lucknow -: Lucknow is the capital city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is another city where Afghanistan has played home cricket matches.
Abu Dhabi -: Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Afghanistan has also played some of their home cricket matches here.
BCCI -: BCCI stands for the Board of Control for Cricket in India. It is the governing body for cricket in India and would be responsible for helping Afghanistan secure a stable venue in India.
