We Will Miss Presence of Virat Kohli in our Maiden Test: ACB CEO

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) CEO, Shafiq Stanikzai admitted that they will miss the Indian skipper Virat Kohli in their maiden Test.

Afghan team will play their debut Test match against India at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium from 14 June. The Asian country got their Test status in June 2017 along with Ireland.

Meanwhile, Kohli will give this series a skip to prepare for the England series. He will represent Surrey Cricket Club (SCC) in the ongoing County Championship.

We will miss the presence of Virat Kohli: ACB CEO

Shafiq admitted that it was their dream to play against India in India. He also revealed that Afghanistan will miss the exposure of playing against someone like Kohli’s stature.

“We lived this dream to play this first Test against India in India. That moment has come true. Virat is a world cricket icon, something our players will miss the exposure playing against. Nevertheless, it will be a good opportunity and we will cherish every single moment of that match,” Stanikzai told PTI.

He also mentioned that Afghanistan will not play against India in Test matches in the new FTP from 2019-2023 even as they will play all top nations, including Australia and England.

Meanwhile, the trouble-torn Afghanistan play their home games in Sharjah Cricket Stadium, and also have two ‘home’ bases in India — Greater Noida and Dehradun.

Stanikzai said that they will have to choose from three venues for the upcoming Tests in the 2019-2023 FTP.

“For the time being, we have three venues to choose from. We have two venues in India thanks to the BCCI. We also have Sharjah Cricket Ground, it depends on the scheduling where we play,” he conluded.

Afghanistan plays bilateral series against top nations including Australia and England as per the next FTP.

Afghanistan and Ireland become eventually the 11th and 12h Test-playing nations.

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