Follow UsAfghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi lambasted all the critics of Afghan cricket, who say that the country lacks facilities for the game. He went on to provide details about all the facilities and fan support that Afghanistan cricketers receive back home and hoped that soon they would be able to play international cricket at home.
“I heard a lot that they don't have facilities, they don't have stadiums, they don't have academies. It's totally wrong. We have good facilities. We have cricket academies. We have a High Performance Center in Kabul and Jalalabad, and we also have stadiums in every zone of Afghanistan,” Shahidi said in the pre-match press conference ahead of their first match in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 against South Africa.
Shahidi even went on to claim that a 40 to 50 thousand crowd in domestic games is a common phenomenon in Afghanistan.
“When we play domestic cricket, it's fully packed. People even wait outside the stadium. More than 50,000, 40,000 or 30,000 people come for the finals of an event,” he said.
The Afghan captain was keen to welcome all the teams to their home and hoped that the day is not far away when international cricket will be played in the central Asian country.
“We have the facilities to call a team to come to Afghanistan but in our country there were some security issues. That's why other countries are not coming. I know that if any team comes to Afghanistan, there will be thousands of people in the stadium because there is a lot of craze for cricket. Hopefully that day comes, and hopefully it comes soon,” said the 30-year-old.