Stanikzai commends ‘tremendous support’ from BCCI

KABUL Cricket Board chief executive officer (CEO) has commended India’s role in promoting the game in the war-devastated country.

“BCCI’s role has really been immense. Since we moved to India, the team has done well. The support we receive from BCCI has been instrumental,” Shafiq Stanikzai said.

In an interview with the Press Trust India (PTI), he acknowledged: “In Pakistan we trained a lot in initial stages. Their (PCB) support was also tremendous.”

But after moving to India, the Afghans had been performing well and had reached a stage where they were playing with the best, the ACB CEO added.

“So, comparatively, it is bigger. Financially, it is helping us quite a lot. It is cost-effective in comparison to playing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he said.

Convincing other boards to come and play in India was easier, argued Stanikzai, who said BCCI had agreed to support Afghanistan’s U-17 squad.

A year after becoming a full ICC member, Afghanistan are scheduled to play their maiden Test match against India in Bangalore in June.

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