Ahead of their opening Super 10 match against Sri Lanka, Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai thanked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for helping them with cricket infrastructure. In the run-up to the ICC World T20, Afghanistan trained and practiced at UPCA’s Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida. The BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority in the presence of Rajiv Shukla which paved way for Afghanistan to shift their base to Noida from Sharjah.
“There is a lot of craze in Afghanistan. The people love this game. Back home they are very excited. They are following us very closely. It is the No.1 game in the country. We appreciate and thank the BCCI for providing us with a home ground in Greater Noida. they have not only helped us have better infrastructure, but they have proved the friendship,” said Stanikzai.
He also praised India-Pakistan coaching combo of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Manoj Prabhakar. “Inzamam, and Manoj have done very well, they have shared their international experience with us which has been of great help,” he said.
Afghanistan qualified for the Super 10 after topping the Group B in qualifiers. Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe, Scotland and Hong Kong to finish the qualifying stage on a high. “Last two months, the preparation has been great. Five games with Gujarat teams before Asia Cup and after that we came back to Greater Noida to iron out our flaws,” he said.
