Afghanistan cricket team leaves for India

KABUL national cricket team on Monday left for India ahead of participating in the five-nation Asia Cup Twenty20 Qualifiers scheduled to start in Bangladesh on Feb 19.

In the inaugural five-nation event between teams from Asia, one qualifier will join the four fancied teams --- hosts Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka --- in the main round.

The qualifying round, which begins from February 19-22 in Fatullah, will feature UAE, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and Oman.

Arch-rivals Pakistan and India will clash on February 27 in the fourth match of the Asia Cup T20, which is being staged in Bangladesh from February 24-March 6.

The tournament will provide an ideal opportunity for the competing teams to prepare for the World T20 in India, which begins from March 8.

Afghanistan Cricket Board chief executive Nasimullah Danish, flanked by Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai, addressed a press conference in Kabul ahead of the players’ departure for India.

Danish said they had selected an 18-man squad to play practice matches in New Delhi and then a final 15-man squad would be picked for the tournament in Bangladesh.

Danish said the national side was fully prepared for the event and called the team’s composition as fair, saying players who had enough experience to face full member teams had been selected in the squad.

ma