PESHAWAR:Afghanistan’s under-19 cricket team on Friday left for Islamabad via bus amid tight security after a day’s stay in Peshawar to take a connecting flight to Karachi-Doha-Dhaka for the forthcoming U19 Cricket Series against host Bangladesh, team coach Raees Ahmadzai told reporter here.
“We are thankful to the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for arranging a nice stay for us in Peshawar after our entry into Pakistan through Pak-Afghan border Torkham,” Raees Ahmadzai said. The team, he said, will play five One-Day Internationals and a 4-Day match against Bangladesh U19 team.
About the 19-member team with seven officials, Raees Ahmadzai said that Afghan players have immense talent and hopefully the team would perform better in all upcoming cricket events. He said the Afghan team will leave for Karachi at 2.00 pm and from Karachi to Doha, Qatar at 5.30 p.m.
The team, he said, will have a short stay before leaving for Dhaka, Bangladesh from Doha. The 26-member contingent of the Afghan Under-19 cricket team reached Peshawar via Torkham on Thursday.
The new Taliban government has approved the Afghan U19 cricket team’s tour for Bangladesh after taking control of Afghanistan. The Afghan cricket team was given a warm welcome at Torkham on the Pak-Afghan border.
After reaching Torkham, the cricket team was shifted to a local hotel in Peshawar under tight security. The Afghan cricket team was provided special police security. Additional personnel were also deployed outside the hotel to avoid any untoward incident.
After the withdrawal of US and NATO forces, there were fears that the Taliban government would ban cricket and other sports activities but instead Taliban showed clear support for the game, Afghanistan cricket team coach Raees Ahmadzai said.