Afghanistan’s leading T20 domestic cricket league opened yesterday with multiple star national players set to participate for the first time since the Taliban return to power, the country’s cricket board said.

Kabul Cricket Stadium hosted the first match between the defending champion Speenghar Tigers and Band-e-Amir Dragons in front of an energetic crowd of fans.

Afghanistan T20 Captain and ace spinner Rashid Khan, who was expected to spearhead the Speenghar Tigers team, was not yet available to play.

He was among several top players of the national T20 cricket team set to appear later due to commitments in international leagues, such as in the UK and Canada, a senior Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) official said. 

The previous season of the league held in 2022 - the first after the Taliban return to power the year before - was attacked with a bomb blast during a match that killed at least two spectators and wounded four others.

The league was previously organised in franchise format, however, this season, the ACB will hold the tournament itself, featuring five zonal teams competing against each other from August 12 to 25.

Cricket fever runs deep in Afghanistan and its national cricket team’s spectacular strides on the international stage have provided rare moments of widespread celebration in a country ravaged by four decades of war and beleaguered by economic and humanitarian crises. 

(Agencies)