Cricket Brings Matter of Pride and Dignity, Says Lutfullah Stanikzai
Updated - 30 Aug 2018, 10:15 PM
The head of Afghanistan Cricket Board’s (ACB) media and marketing right, Lutfullah Stanikzai said that game of cricket changed fortunes of Afghanistan.
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The war-torn nation took cricket as an antidote for their miseries. The popularity of the game is spreading like a forest fire, and recent outings of Afghanistan added the fuel to the cause in a better possible way.
In the recent limited-overs series, Afghanistan managed to promote itself to eight spots in the fifty-overs leg.
Before the commencement of the series, they were on the 10th place. The figures depict the progression and the amount of hard work from the Afghanistan Cricket Team.
“Cricket has caught the public imagination because of the rise of the national team and also because of the Afghan refugees who played cricket in Pakistan – many of them have returned, and they brought cricket with them to Afghanistan,” pointed out Stanikzai in an interview with Khaleej Times.
“Now you see a lot of kids playing the game. Packed stadiums in domestic games have become a common sight. You know we suffered a lot because of the war. But now cricket has played a part in changing the country’s fortunes. It is giving people a lot of happiness and pride,” he added.
In the recent past, two teams get an entry in Test format of the game – Afghanistan, and Ireland. Afghanistan played its first Test match against India at Bengaluru. Although, it did not go quite well with Afghanistan considering the results, however, it was an auspicious occasion for the country.
Lutfullah Stanikzai on Test status of Afghanistan:
“Awarding Test status to countries like Afghanistan and Ireland was a great decision. We have to keep in mind the popularity of the game. It has to spread across the world,” said Stanikzai.
“Afghanistan and Ireland deserve this chance because they have been performing consistently in international cricket. Afghanistan defeated the West Indies in the 2016 World T20, and they were the only team to defeat the West Indies in that tournament. And our boys have also given tough fights to a lot of top teams,” he added.
However, Lutfullah Stanikzain admitted that getting proper facilities at the domestic level is still a challenge for sure in cricket.
However, he said that county had made significant progress.
