Politicians, officials interfere in ACB affairs: Mashal

KABUL Cricket Board (ACB) chief on Thursday accused some politicians and government authorities of interfering in the cricket body’s affairs.

ACB chairman Shukrullah Atif Mashal, briefing a press conference about the board’s achievements in the past six months, said: “We have evidence to show that some politicians and powerful individuals put pressure on us to appoint their own people in the ACB and the national team.”

He did not name anyone, but asked them to leave the cricket board alone in selecting players based on their abilities.

“If these individuals continue interference, we will have no way but to reveal their names,” Mashal stressed.

He accused a number of senior government authorities of interference in cricket affairs and said some authorities even threatened ACB officers with elimination over not including their people in the national team.

“No type of pressure and interference is acceptable to us, if anyone tried to impose their own demands on ACB, they would fail,” he said.

About ACB achievements, Mashal said they included reforms, building facilities, infrastructure and creating a working mechanism.

He said gaining full membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) was one of the greatest achievements of the ACB. Obtaining full ICC membership was both opportunity and responsibility so fundamental steps were needed to keep the status, he said.

Mashal added soon a cricket academy would be inaugurated in capital Kabul that would provide special facilities for cricket fans.

The ACB was trying to promote cricket in provinces which have been categorized in this regard, he said. He also said they planned to add cricket sport as a subject in school curriculum.

About investment of the private sector, he said: “We for the first time were able to privatize cricket matches; some companies invested up to 150 million afghanis in this sport.”

mds/ma