Afghanistan: Taliban approve first cricket Test match since Islamist takeover
- ‘We have got approval to send the team to Australia,’ the chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, Hamid Shinwari, said
- The Test match, to be played in Hobart, Australia in November, was scheduled for last year but was delayed because of coronavirus travel restrictions
The Taliban have approved Afghanistan’s first cricket Test since their takeover, raising hopes that international matches will continue as usual under the new rule of the Islamists.
“We have got approval to send the team to Australia,” the chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, Hamid Shinwari, told Agence France-Presse.
During their first stint in power, before they were ousted in 2001, the Taliban banned most forms of entertainment – including many sports – and stadiums were used as public execution venues.
The hardline Islamists do not mind cricket, however, and the game is popular among many fighters. They have also promised to enforce a less strict version of Islamic law this time, after seizing the capital Kabul last month.
02:00
Pro-Taliban celebrations in Afghanistan after departure of US troops
The Test match, to be played in Hobart from November 27-December 1, was scheduled for last year but was put off due to the Covid-19 pandemic and international travel restrictions.
It will be Afghanistan’s first Test in Australia.