The Taliban on Tuesday thanked India and the BCCI for its continued support in the growth of Afghanistan cricket after the men's team reached the semifinals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies.
Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh and Australia to reach the knockouts of an ICC tournament for the first time in their history.
BCCI's role in rise of Afghan cricket
Notably, the BCCI has been providing training facilities to the men's team in India since 2015.
Afghanistan have played their "home" games in Greater Noida, Dehradun, and Lucknow's Ekana Stadium. They do not play their home matches in Afghanistan due to the ongoing conflicts there.
Indian govt helps build stadium in Kandahar
The Indian government also helped build the Kandahar cricket stadium with a grant of $1 million.
Therefore, the Taliban, which rules the war-torn country, hailed the contribution of India in Afghanistan's rise in international cricket.
"We are thankful for India’s continuous help in capacity building of the Afghan Cricket Team. We really appreciate that," the Taliban's Head of the Political Office, Suhail Shaheen told WION.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi even rang up Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan and congratulated him on the team's dream run in the World Cup after their win over Bangladesh.
Afghanistan will now face South Africa in the first semi-final on June 27 while India will take on defending champions England in the second clash on the same day.
