Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani hosted the Afghanistan National Cricket team at his residence in Kabul on Saturday and commended them for their commitment to cricket in the country.
The Pakistani embassy said in a statement that Nizamani had assured the team of his full support and together they discussed ways to strengthen cricketing ties between the two nations.
Nizamani also said in a tweet on Saturday that he had been “delighted to host the incredibly talented Afghanistan national cricket team. Discussed ways to strengthen cricketing ties between the 2 brotherly countries. Best wishes for their upcoming tours!”
The statement noted that management officials from the Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) had also been present including the chairman, Mirwais Ashraf; the CEO Naseeb Khan; team captain Hashmatullah Shaheedi; and HPC coach Imran Farhat among others.
The team’s visit to the embassy comes ahead of a busy period for the players who will take on Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series from June 2 to 7 in Hambantota, before heading to Bangladesh for a three-format tour against their hosts from June 10.
The team will play a one-off Test, three ODIs and two T20Is.
The tour, however, will be split into two parts. Afghanistan will play the one-off Test in Dhaka from June 14 to 18, after which they will leave for India. They will return to Bangladesh on July 1 to play three ODIs in Chattogram from July 5 to 11.
They will also play two T20Is in Sylhet on July 14 and 16, which will conclude the series.
“We are pleased to have a busy schedule ahead of us, as we will tour Bangladesh after the Sri Lanka tour. We have our sights set on the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, and we are working hard to arrange more bilateral games for our National team as the tournament approaches,” Naseeb Khan, CEO of Afghanistan Cricket Board said last week.
