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Media reports had suggested the trip would begin as soon as Sunday and last two days
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War-torn Nation has not Got a Single Ground: Coach
DUBAI — Afghanistan is fighting against all odds to make a name in the world of cricket. The war-torn country has not got a single proper cricket ground to hold matches. No training facilities and there is not enough opposition to play against.
Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan while talking to Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview shed some light on the difficulties faced by the nascent cricketing nation.
“We always need outside support to play our game. To be honest Pakistan has helped Afghanistan a lot in developing this team. They provided us with infrastructure and groomed our players individually.
“Pakistan government and PCB has arranged camps over there and they are still inviting us to play cricket there.
“But frankly speaking, keeping in the mind the security situation in Pakistan, it is not possible to play cricket in the country,” the coach said.
Kabir himself a former international knows the pros and cons of the game and looked very involved in his work at Dubai Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
He added: “We are thankful to Sri Lanka for lending us a hand by providing us an opportunity to train there in the run up to this tournament.
“I hope we will keep getting this type of invaluable favour from countries like Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to hone our players skills.
“I will urge these countries to give us chance to play in their domestic cricket which will be a big boon for us. Because Afghanistan has got no domestic cricket and players hardly get chance to play and improve their game.
“There are more than 100 clubs in each big city (Kabul, Kandahar and Herat) but there is no facility. We have got only cement pitches and you can’t produce players of international standard on those pitches.”
The happy coach who was ready to talk in any language (English, Urdu or Pushto) said: “The boys are eager and ready to learn and provide their countrymen with something to cheer amid these hard times. We have come here to achieve something and I hope the boys will not disappoint us.”
Afghanistan have progressed by leaps and bounds in the past one and a half year. They were ranked No. 130 in the world but they have climbed up to No. 15.
The coach added: “We are well prepared for this tournament and beating Ireland is not a joke. It is one of the fast emerging team in the world. After one more we will be in top four and the we will be able to plan our strategy.
“We need to improve our fielding but lack of grounds is big hindrance. India have improved their grounds and the difference in their fielding is obvious. Pakistan has yet to do something worthy in this regard.”
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