KABUL: Afghanistan’s professional T20 cricket tournament, which was due to start on Friday, has been postponed, an official from the country’s cricket board (ACB) told an international news agency.
The Shpageeza Cricket League was due to feature eight franchises – up from 2020’s six. Top Afghani players, including world number three T20 bowler, leg-spinner Rashid Khan, were set to play in the 15-day league.
However, after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan on August 15, the future of many sporting events in the country remains uncertain.
First staged in 2013, the Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) had said this year’s edition of the Shpageeza would take place, even after the Taliban swept to power. However, an ACB spokesperson said that it would not be going ahead.
“Unfortunately the Shpageeza Cricket League has been postponed,” the spokesperson said, adding, “We’d been hoping that it could be staged, but it isn’t viable at the moment.”
“The current financial situation in the country makes it impossible for such an event to go ahead, so the eight franchises and the Afghan Cricket Board agreed that it should be postponed to a later date,” he added.
The spokesman further said, “We are still hoping to stage it at some point in the future if the financial issues in Afghanistan are resolved.” Last month, the ACB cancelled a three-match ODI series in Pakistan, citing the situation in Afghanistan, the difficulty in travelling and player welfare.
