Taliban approve cricket, ready to send Afghanistan team for Test match in Australia

Since the evacuation of the US and NATO forces from Afghanistan after the Taliban swept into Kabul last month, there have been fears that cricket and other sports would be hit.

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has hampered and stopped many diplomatic ties between the country and the world. However, cricket might not be one of them.

The Taliban government has approved the first test match for the country since coming to power. The chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, Hamid Shinwari, said that the cricket administration has gotten the permission for a test match in Australia.

It’s a policy shift from the previous Taliban government that ruled Afghanistan between 1996-2001. During that stint, most forms of the entertainment were banned.

The match in Hobart will take place in between November 27 and December 2. The match was supposed to take place in 2020 but due to the covid pandemic situation, it was delayed.

The game of cricket has caught up big time in Afghanistan in last three decades. The rise to stardom of country's spinner Rashid Khan has also contributed a lot in the interest around cricket. Khan is now among the world's leading bowlers and has been a star in other cricket-playing nations.

Afghanistan received its Test status in 2017 and played its first match against India in Bengaluru in June, 2018.

Afghanistan is also likely to participate in the ICC T20 World Championship scheduled to take place this year.