Afg reassures participation in CT2025

The eight-team tournament will be played in Pakistan next year

LAHORE:

The Chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), Mirwais Ashraf, and CEO Naseeb Khan traveled to Colombo to attend the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s annual Board Meeting, where they met with PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

During the meeting, ACB officials assured Naqvi of Afghanistan’s participation in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which Pakistan will host in February and March.

They dismissed rumors suggesting Afghanistan might skip the tournament, emphasizing their enthusiasm for competing in their first Champions Trophy.

While at the ICC meeting, PCB Chairman Naqvi also engaged in a friendly discussion with BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, although formal talks regarding bilateral series did not occur.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) have passed the budget for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 which will be hosted by Pakistan in February-March next year.

BCCI will yet to decide on whether team India will travel to Pakistan for the marquee event or if India matches will be played at a neutral venue.

However, the ICC allotted Rs 12.80 billion to Pakistan for the multinational tournament. ICC’s chief finance officer, Ankur Khanna, and PCB’s chief finance officer, Javed Murtaza, had prepared the budget.

ICC allocated this budget to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to renovate venues in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi for the Champions Trophy 2025.

PCB are sticking to its original plan of hosting the whole tournament in Pakistan but as per Cricket Pakistan’s report team India might play their matches at a neutral venue rather than travelling to Pakistan.

Youth Tri-Series

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is exploring the possibility of organizing a Youth Tri-Series involving Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the near future.

This initiative was discussed during the ICC’s annual Board Meeting, which took place this week in Colombo.

ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf and CEO Naseeb Khan were present at the meeting, where they engaged in talks with representatives from Cricket South Africa, Cricket New Zealand, and Cricket West Indies. The discussions centered on potential white-ball series opportunities leading up to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

“Afghanistan Cricket Board’s Chairman, Mr Mirwais Ashraf, and CEO, Mr Naseeb Khan, attended the ICC Board Meeting which was held this week in Sri Lanka and was attended by representatives from other member countries,” the ACB said in a press release.

“During the meeting, ACB’s leadership presented recent achievements, activities, and future plans for the Afghanistan Cricket Board. They also held discussions with representatives from Cricket South Africa, Cricket New Zealand, and Cricket West Indies about potential white-ball bilateral cricket ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.”

The proposed Youth Tri-Series, featuring Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the UAE, would be a significant addition to the cricketing calendar, with dates and venues yet to be finalized. Additionally, ACB is considering A-team tours to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

“The discussions also included A team tours to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, and the possibility of a Youth Tri-Series against Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, with the dates and venues to be confirmed,” the press release continued.

The ICC leadership and attending representatives commended the ACB and Afghanistan team for their impressive performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

“The ICC leadership and meeting participants praised ACB and AfghanAtalan’s recent accomplishments in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and highlighted the team’s remarkable performances and their significant contribution to entertaining fans around the world and the development of cricket in Afghanistan,” the press release added.

Afghanistan’s cricket team, under the captaincy of Rashid Khan, garnered global attention with their remarkable run in the tournament. The team defeated top sides such as Australia and New Zealand, eventually reaching the semi-finals for the first time in an ICC event.

Despite their loss to South Africa in the semi-final, Afghanistan’s aggressive gameplay throughout the tournament earned them praise and demonstrated their growing prominence on the international cricket stage.