"Afghanistan Players Are Confident That Cricket Will Not Be Disturbed" – Lalchand Rajput

Former Indian cricketer and head coach, Lalchand Rajput, has stated the Afghanistan players believe that the cricketing matters in the country won’t be affected after the political changes in the country.

The Taliban has forcefully taken over Kabul which brings about a complete change of regime in the country. Lalchand, who coached Afghanistan Cricket Team for a year back in 2016, stated that the situation was scary but hoped for the best.

“Yes, it’s definitely scary to see the images on television from Afghanistan. Some of the videos you see are really disturbing.”

“Whatever happens, happens for the best. I moved on from Afghanistan and I am happy that I got an opportunity to work with Zimbabwe cricket since I didn’t continue with Afghanistan,” Lalchand was quoted as saying to TOI.

“I am sure Taliban will support cricket as it’s the biggest sport in Afghanistan” – Lalchand Rajput

Lalchand, who currently coaches the Zimbabwe cricket team, quit the Afghanistan coaching job in 2017 after the ACB asked him to move to Kabul. Under him, Afghans made huge progress in the sport, even earning Test status during his tenure. He has a close relationship with the players and is still in touch with them.

“I am sure that they [Taliban] will support cricket as it is Afghanistan’s biggest sport. It brings lots of happiness in Afghan people’s lives.”

“I am in touch with most of the players. I spoke to them today. They were confident that cricket will not be disturbed,” he concluded.

Afghanistan team’s media manager Hikmat Hassan also confirmed that their players will participate in the upcoming T20 World Cup to be held in the UAE.

“Yes, we will play in the T20 World Cup. The preparations are on and the available players will be back to training in Kabul in the next few days,” he said.

The 2021 T20 World Cup will commence after the conclusion of the second leg of IPL 2021, and ICC recently announced the schedule for the multi-nation tournament.

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