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Cricket in Afghanistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Afghan cricket)

Cricket in Afghanistan
Crowd watching a cricket tournament in 2015
CountryAfghanistan
Governing bodyAfghanistan Cricket Board
National teamsAfghanistan Men
Afghanistan Women
Afghanistan U-19 Men
Afghanistan A
National competitions
International competitions

Cricket in Afghanistan is a popular sport in the country,[1] which is represented internationally by the Afghanistan national cricket team. Afghanistan became a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 22 June 2017, enabling the national team to participate in official Test matches. Today, cricket is one of the most popular sports in Afghanistan, and the Afghanistan team has made quick progress in the international world of cricket.

Afghanistan's playing season runs from May to September. There are 320 cricket clubs and 6 turf wickets in Afghanistan.[2] In February 2017, the ICC awarded first-class status to Afghanistan's four-day domestic competition.[3] They also granted List A status to their existing Twenty20 domestic competition, as Afghanistan did not have a domestic 50-over tournament.[4][5] In May 2017 however, the ICC recognised the 50-over Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament by granting it List A status.[6]

History

[edit]

Cricket was first played in Afghanistan during the 19th century Anglo-Afghan Wars, with British troops reported to have played in Kabul in 1839. However, unlike many countries, no lasting cricket legacy was left by the British, and it would be more than a hundred years before cricket returned.[2]

Afghanistan's border with the Test playing nation of Pakistan has helped the game to take root. In the 1990s, cricket became popular amongst Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and the Afghanistan Cricket Federation was formed there in 1995. They continued to play cricket on their return to their home country in late 2001.[2] Like all sports, cricket was originally banned by the Taliban, but it became an exception in 2000, and the Afghanistan Cricket Federation was elected as an affiliate member of the ICC the following year.[7]

The Afghanistan national cricket team's 21-run win over Namibia in Krugersdorp earned them official One Day International status in April 2009. The team qualified for the 2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

Administration

[edit]

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is the official governing body of the sport of cricket in Afghanistan. Its current headquarters is in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Cricket Board is Afghanistan's representative at the International Cricket Council and was an associate member of ICC from June 2013 to 2017. Now, it is one of the full members of ICC since 2017. It is also a member of the Asian Cricket Council.

National teams

[edit]
National teams of Afghanistan
Afghanistan (Men's) Afghanistan (Women's)
Afghanistan U-19 (Men's) Afghanistan A

The Afghanistan national cricket team is governed by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and is a member of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Since 2017, the ACB has been affiliated with ICC, the international governing body for world cricket. In 1910, the ACB became one of the members of the ACC.

Performance

[edit]

The following list includes the performance of all of Afghanistan's national teams at major competitions.

Men's senior team

[edit]

The Afghanistan national cricket team represents the country of Afghanistan in international cricket matches. The national team was formed in 1910, immediately after took part in Pakistan domestic circuit after being invited in 2001,[2] which played in the 2009 World Cup Qualifier[8] after rising rapidly through the World Cricket League, starting in Division Five in May 2008.[9] They play in the Elite division of the ACC Trophy.[10]

Afghanistan's 21-run win over Namibia in Krugersdorp earned them official One Day International status. Afghanistan won their first One Day International against Scotland. In 2011, the team qualified for the 2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

The Afghanistan national cricket team at the 2010 ICC WCL Division One in Rotterdam, Netherlands
Tournament Appearance in finals Last
appearance		 Best
performance
ICC Men's Cricket World Cup0 out of 1320236th (2023)
ICC Men's T20 World Cup0 out of 92024Semi-final (2024)
ICC Champions Trophy0 out of 8--
Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier3 out of 72015Champions (2010)
Asia Cup0 out of 162023Group Stage (2018, 2022, 2023)
Asian Games3 out of 32022Finals (2010, 2014, 2022)
ACC Twenty20 Cup4 out of 52013Champions (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)

Women's senior team

[edit]

The Afghanistan national women's cricket team is the team that represents the country of Afghanistan in international women's cricket matches. The team was formed in 2010, drawing on players mostly from Kabul.[11] Although the team is yet to play representative cricket, it had been scheduled to take part in the 2011 ACC Women’s Twenty20 in Kuwait, which ran from 17 – 25 February. The team was forced to withdraw from the tournament before travelling to Kuwait due to elements in Afghanistan opposing women's participation in sport[12] After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan after the Fall of Kabul of 2021, women were banned from cricket and members of the national team were exiled.[13]

Men's U-19 team

[edit]

Afghanistan national under-19 cricket team represents the country of Afghanistan in U-19 international cricket.

Afghanistan finished second in the 2009 Under-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier which was held in Canada. The team gained victories over the under-19 teams of Sierra Leone, Hong Kong, Vanuatu, the United States, Uganda, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea. The team lost just two matches to Ireland and Canada. Afghanistan have finished fourth in 2011 Under-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier which gained them qualification to 2012 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

Tournament Appearance in finals Last
appearance		 Best
performance
ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup0 out of 1520244th (2018, 2022)
ACC Under-19 Asia Cup1 out of 112024Champions (2017)

Afghanistan A team

[edit]
Tournament Appearance in finals Last
appearance		 Best
performance
ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup1 out of 62024Champions (2024)

Affiliated Province Cricket Associations

[edit]

There are currently 34 provincial cricket associations affiliated with ACB

Regional domestic teams

[edit]
Provinces of Regional Cricket Teams in Afghanistan
Amo (Navy)
Band-e-Amir (Green)
Boost (Orange)
Kabul (blue)
Mis Ainak (Brown)
Speen Ghar (Grey)

Organisation of cricket in modern Afghanistan

[edit]

International cricket

[edit]

Men's National Team

[edit]

The Afghanistan national cricket team represents Afghanistan in international cricket matches.

Afghanistan have been participating in international cricket since 2001 and competed in international tournament since 2004. They have competed in numerous tournaments over the years including the ACC tournaments. The Afghanistan national cricket team has also provided some of the greatest players to the world, the biggest example of which is Rashid Khan. The Afghanistan men's national team is currently ranked No. 11th in Tests, No. 8th in ODIs and at 10th position in T20Is. Afghanistan best performance in World Cup was the latest 2023 world cup under the captaincy of Hashmatullah Shahidi.

  • Test International- Afghanistan made their debut as a Test playing nation in 2018 against India. In past time, Afghanistan rarely play test and won it. But in recent years they are playing more test matches and winning it to.
  • One Day International- -Afghanistan played their first ODI International in 2009 against Scotland. They were not able to participate in first edition of Cricket World Cup. But from 2015 Cricket World Cup they have been continuisly participating and improving in every upcoming world cup
  • T20 International- Afghanistan played their first T20 International in 2010 against Ireland. Afghanistan have made great impact in T20 international from their early day of this format. They have been in semis of recent 2024 Men's T20 World Cup.

Domestic Cricket

[edit]

First Class competition

[edit]

Limited overs competitions

[edit]

Twenty20 competitions

[edit]

Afghanistan's domestic structure originally consisted of a 25-over Inter-Provincial Tournament, which had the participation of 22 provinces in the tournament. The aim of the tournament was to spread the game across the country and to generate a greater depth of talent for the national team to select from. The best players from the tournament were selected players for Afghanistan A and under-19 teams based on their performance and would be sent for training and coaching to Bangladesh.

A member of the Afghan Border Police plays cricket after the ground breaking ceremony for the Ghulam Mohammad Sports Complex in Kunar Province.

The top two teams from the 12-team first round advanced to the next round. The top six from the tournament then contested a 50 over tournament in Kabul. The 50 over tournament in May 2010 was won by Kabul Province.

Starting in 2011, Afghanistan's domestic cricket structure has grown. The expanded Inter-Provincial Tournament was reorganized into a 50 over tournament and divided into a Challenge Cup section (the Etisalat ODN Challenge Cup[15] with 20 provincial teams) and an Elite Cup section (with 12 provincial teams; 4 of them qualifiers from the Challenge Cup section).[16] In addition to the Inter-Provincial cricket the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has divided the provinces of Afghanistan in to 5 Cricket Regions to enable the better management of the game. The Regions are Amo in the north (centered on Balkh), Spin Ghar in the east (centered on Nangarhar), Band-e-Amir in the centre (centered on Kabul), Mis Ainak in the southeast (centered on Khost) and Boost in the west and southwest (centered on Kandahar).[14] The 5 regions in turn have representative teams which play in all traditional 3 formats of cricket.

In addition to an expansion of the inter-provincial tournament from 25-over matches to 50-over matches and the addition of the T-20 and multi-day formats, cricket in Afghanistan has now expanded across the provinces as well; 32 of the 34 provinces now have representative sides.[17] All provinces except Daykundi and Farah have a representative team, while the ACB recognizes Afghan Refugees[18] and Koochian (Nomads) as provincial teams. The three-day league competition was expanded into a four-day league in 2014-15.[17][19] Additionally a two-day inter-provincial league competition was held in 2016.[20]

The UAE-based telecommunications company, Etisalat is now one of the main sponsors of Afghanistan's cricket, including being then title sponsor in Afghanistan's division 2 inter-provincinal challenge cup and the Etisalat Sixes T20 Tournament.

Starting from the 2017 season, Afghanistan has a four-day first-class competition (Ahmad Shah Abdali 4-day Tournament), a 50-over List A competition (Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament) and a recognized Twenty20 league (Shpageeza Cricket League).[4][5][6] In 2019, an additional 3-day first-class event (Mirwais Nika Provincial 3-Day)[21] and a List A event (Afghanistan Provincial Challenge Cup) were launched for individual provinces to compete in.[22] Subsequent editions of the Mirwais Nika 3-Day tournament in 2022,[23] 2023,[24] 2024,[25] and 2025[26] were not awarded first-class status and had been converted from a provincial competition into a regional competition.

In March 2024, the ACB launched a new T20 cricket competition named Qosh Tepa National T20 Cup involving regional teams, with the first edition taking place in April 2024.[27]

Stadiums

[edit]

Active stadiums

[edit]
StadiumLocationCapacityNotesImage
Ghazi Amanullah International Cricket StadiumGhazi Amanullah Town, Nangarhar Province14,000
Kandahar International Cricket StadiumKandahar9,000
Khost Cricket StadiumKhost8,000
Helmand Cricket StadiumLashkar Gah, Helmand[28]8,000
Sherzai Cricket StadiumJalalabad, Nangarhar8,000
Laghman Cricket Stadium[29]Mihtarlam, Laghman7,000
Kabul International Cricket StadiumKabul6,000
Paktia Cricket StadiumGardez, Paktia6,000

Performance By Afghanistan national team in International competitions

[edit]
Key
Champions
Runners-up
3rd position

Men's team

[edit]

ICC Cricket World Cup

[edit]
YearRoundPlayedWonTiedLostCaptain
England 1975Not eligible – not an ICC Member
England 1979
England 1983
IndiaPakistan 1987
AustraliaNew Zealand 1992
IndiaPakistanSri Lanka 1996
EnglandScotlandRepublic of IrelandNetherlands 1999
South AfricaZimbabweKenya 2003Not an ICC Member at time of qualifying
Cricket West Indies 2007Did not qualify
IndiaBangladeshSri Lanka 2011
AustraliaNew Zealand 2015Group stage6105Mohammad Nabi
England 2019Group stage9009Gulbadin Naib
India 2023Group stage9405Hashmatullah Shahidi
TotalGroup stage245019–

ICC T20 World Cup

[edit]
T20 World Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L T NR
South Africa 2007Did not qualify
England 2009
Cricket West Indies 2010[30]Group Stage12/1220200
Sri Lanka 201211/1220200
Bangladesh 201414/1631200
India 2016Super 109/1674300
OmanUnited Arab Emirates 2021Super 127/1652300
Australia 2022Super 12 12/16 5 0 3 0 2
Cricket West IndiesUnited States 2024Semi-finals 3/20 8 5 3 0 0
TotalSemi-finals (2024)3/20 (2024)32121802

ICC Champions Trophy

[edit]
ICC Champions Trophy record
Year Round Position GP W L T NR
Bangladesh 1998Not an ICC member
Kenya 2000
Sri Lanka 2002
England 2004Did not qualify
India 2006
South Africa 2009
England Wales 2013
England Wales 2017
Pakistan United Arab Emirates 2025Qualified
India 2029TBD

ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier

[edit]
Host & Year Round Position P W L T NR Notes
England 1979Not eligible – Not an ICC member
England 1982
England 1986
Netherlands 1990
Kenya 1994
Malaysia 1997
Canada 2001
Ireland 2005Did not qualify
South Africa 2009Playoffs5th106400 Qualified for the 2009–10 Intercontinental Cup and gained ODI status until 2014
New Zealand 2014Automatic qualification
Zimbabwe 2018Champions1st85300 Qualified for the 2019 Cricket World Cup
Zimbabwe 2023Automatic qualification
Total 18 11 7 0 0

ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier

[edit]
Host & Year Round Position P W L T NR Notes
Ireland 2008Not eligible, not an ODI nation at time of tournament
United Arab Emirates 2010Champions1st65100 Qualified for the 2010 World Twenty20
United Arab Emirates 2012Runners-up2nd98100 Qualified for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20
United Arab Emirates 2013Runners-up2nd97200 Qualified for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20
IrelandScotland 2015Playoffs5th95202
United Arab Emirates 2019Did not participate as already qualified for World Cup via another method
Total 33 25 6 0 2

ICC Intercontinental Cup

[edit]

ICC World Cricket League

[edit]

Asia Cup

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Asia Cup record[36]
Year Round Position GP W L T NR
United Arab Emirates 1984Not eligible — Not an ICC Member
Sri Lanka 1986
Bangladesh 1988
India 1990–91
United Arab Emirates 1995
Sri Lanka 1997
Bangladesh 2000
Sri Lanka 2004Did not qualify
Pakistan 2008
Sri Lanka 2010
Bangladesh 2012
Bangladesh 2014Group stage4/541300
Bangladesh 2016Did not qualify
United Arab Emirates 2018Super Fours4/652210
United Arab Emirates 2022 4/6 5 2 3 0 0
PakistanSri Lanka 2023Group Stage5/620200
TotalSuper Fours (2018, 2022)1651010

Asian Games

[edit]
Asian Games record[37]
Year Round Position GP W L T NR
China 2010Silver Medal2/932100
South Korea 2014Silver Medal2/1032100
China 2022Silver Medal2/1432001
TotalSilver Medal2nd96201

ACC Premier League

[edit]
  • 2014: Winners

ACC Trophy

[edit]

Desert T20 Challenge

[edit]

Middle East Cup

[edit]
  • 2006: Runners-up[7]

ACC Twenty20 Cup

[edit]
Year Round Position GP W L T NR
Kuwait 2007[7]Joint champion with Oman1/1064110
United Arab Emirates 2009Champion [38]1/1277000
Nepal 2011Champion1/1066000
Nepal 2013Champion1/1065100
United Arab Emirates 2015Did not participate

Men's U-19 team

[edit]

U-19 World Cup

[edit]
Afghanistan's U19 World Cup record
Year Result Pos № Pld W L T NR
Australia 1988 Ineligible – not an ICC member
South Africa 1998
Sri Lanka 2000
New Zealand 2002 Did not enter
Bangladesh 2004
Sri Lanka 2006 Did not qualify
Malaysia 2008
New Zealand 2010 First round 16th 16 6 1 5 0 0
Australia 2012 First round 10th 16 6 3 3 0 0
United Arab Emirates 2014 Quarter-finals 7th 16 6 3 3 0 0
Bangladesh 2016 First round 9th 16 6 4 2 0 0
New Zealand 2018 Semi-finals 4th 16 6 3 2 0 1
South Africa 2020 Quarter-finals 7th 16 6 3 2 0 1
Cricket West Indies 2022 Semi-Finals 4th 16 6 3 3 0 0
South Africa 2024 First round 13th 16 4 1 3 0 0
Total 46 21 23 0 2

Men's A team

[edit]

ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup

[edit]
ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup record
Year Round Position P W L T NR
Singapore 2013Group Stage5/832100
Bangladesh 2017[39]Semi-finals4/842200
Sri Lanka
Pakistan 2018[40]		Group Stage6/831200
Bangladesh 2019[41]Semi-finals4/842200
Sri Lanka 2023[42]Group Stage5/832100
Oman 2024[43]Champion1/854100
Total1 Title-2213900

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Women's Cricket: Afghanistan's Secretive New Sport". Time. 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Profile of Afghanistan". Asian Cricket Council. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "Big-Three rollback begins, BCCI opposes". ESPN Cricinfo. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Afghanistan domestic competitions awarded first-class and List A status". ESPN Cricinfo. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  5. 1 2 "In Principle Agreement to Constitutional and Financial Changes to ICC". International Cricket Council. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  6. 1 2 "ICC Recognizes Afghanistan's Domestic ODI Tournament As List A League". Bakhtar News. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Timeline of Afghanistan cricket Archived 21 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine at CricketEurope
  8. ↑ Afghanistan and Uganda seal place in ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Archived 8 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine, ICC Media Release, 31 January 2009
  9. ↑ WCL Division Five Official Site Archived 19 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  10. 1 2 3 4 Profile of Afghanistan Archived 12 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine at the ACC website
  11. ↑ First women's cricket team for Afghanistan
  12. ↑ "Afghanistan's Pioneer Women". Asian Cricket Council. 15 August 2011.
  13. ↑ Babar, Um-E-Aymen (2 November 2024). "Banned, ignored and still in exile: The story of the Afghanistan women's cricket team who fled for safety". SkySports. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Afghanistan Cricket Board – About Domestic Cricket". Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  15. ↑ "Afghanistan Cricket Board – Etisalat ODN Challenge Cup 2013". Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  16. ↑ "Afghanistan Cricket Board – Provincial ODN Challenge And Elite Cup 2011". Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  17. 1 2 Cricinfo Magazine – Where do Afghanistan go next?
  18. ↑ Domestic cricket: Teams Archived 6 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Afghanistan Cricket Board
  19. ↑ "Afghanistan Regional 4-Day Tournament 2014-15". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  20. ↑ "Afghanistan Provincial 2-Day Tournament 2016". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  21. ↑ "Provincial Three-day first class tournament to start in Nangarhar and Kunar". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  22. ↑ "Provincial Grade-one Challenge Cup starts tomorrow". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  23. ↑ "Merwais Nika Regional 3-Day Trophy 2022". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  24. ↑ "Merwais Nika Regional 3-Day Trophy 2023". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  25. ↑ "Merwais Nika Regional 3-Day Trophy 2024". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  26. ↑ "Merwais Nika Regional 3-Day Trophy 2025". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  27. ↑ "Afghanistan Cricket Board launches Qosh Tepa National T20 Cup". Amu TV. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  28. ↑ "10-over cricket tournament begins in Lashkargah stadium". Pajhwok Afghan News. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  29. ↑ "Work on Laghman cricket stadium being completed: ACB". Pajhwok Afghan News. 26 February 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  30. ↑ "Points tables for the 2010 World Twenty20". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  31. ↑ "2009–10 Intercontinental Cup". CricketEurope. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  32. ↑ "Afghanistan win a thrilling final". WCL Division Five Official Site. 31 May 2008. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  33. ↑ "Afghanistan". Asian Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  34. ↑ "ICC Media Release: Afghanistan and Uganda seal place in ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier". CricketEurope. 31 January 2009. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  35. ↑ "2010 WCL Division One". CricketEurope. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  36. ↑ "Afghanistan". Asian Cricket Council. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  37. ↑ "Afghanistan v Bangladesh, 26 November 2010". CricketArchive. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  38. ↑ "ACC Twenty20 Cup". CricketEurope. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  39. ↑ "ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2017". Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  40. ↑ "ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2018". Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  41. ↑ "ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2019". Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  42. ↑ "ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023". Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  43. ↑ "ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024". Retrieved 27 October 2024.
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