KABUL
The Afghanistan Cricket Board’s newly-appointed chairman Mirwais Ashraf is planning to make it ‘mandatory’ for the team’s senior cricketers, if available, to take part in domestic first-class tournaments, in order to claim a place in the Test squad.
ACB president confirmed the development to a cricketing website on Saturday and added that he is sure if Rashid Khan is available, he will also take part in the domestic first-class tournament.
ACB included four one-day competitions, including a List-A event, three T20 events, two longer-version competitions and an age-level cricket tournament in their domestic cricket calendar for the year 2022.
“Domestic cricket is very important and a key department for developing any cricketing nation. We are also trying and we also have a plan to make it stronger,” Ashraf told Cricbuzz. “We want to make the domestic (first-class) competition tougher to prepare for the ICC Test Championship and we have a plan that all players should participate in first-class cricket.
“If he (Rashid) is free, then he will absolutely be available in first-class cricket,’’ he said about Rashid, who himself had declared that he will put national duty above franchise cricket.
ACB CEO Naseeb Khan echoed similar sentiments, adding that they are expecting the senior cricketers to make themselves available for first-class competition as well as other domestic tournaments.
“If seniors are available, then they should play in the first-class cricket competition. Earlier, our stars like Rashid and Nabi used to play, but there was war in our country. Now, the situation has totally changed and we can go anywhere by road. Now the situation is improving and we will ask them to play our first-class cricket,” said Naseeb.
