The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said that Rashid Khan’s involvement in the ongoing Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL) 2024, has shown improvements in security and current peace in Afghanistan as well. However, the ACB are hopeful that it has the possibility that international cricket can be played in their backyard as well.

However, International Cricket teams are currently sceptical about travelling to Afghanistan, as the country has been involved in war and political unrest. Hence, the Afghanistan national team are slated to play their home games in India as well. Meanwhile, they have also previously played their home games in the UAE as well. Notably, Rashid had visited Afghanistan earlier this year, before the ICC T20 World Cup in June after a gap of three years. He is back in the country again and he is currently featuring for Speen Ghar Tigers in the ongoing SCL T20 tournament as well.

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On August 20, Rashid Khan smashed the fastest fifty in the T20 tournament as he hit a 23-ball 53 that included three fours and six sixes as well. The effort went in vain as Amo Sharks beat Khan’s Speen Ghar Tigers by 26 runs by DLS method at the Kabul International Stadium as well. However, the ongoing Shpageeza Cricket League features approximately 90 players, which also includes 35 national players, top domestic performers and international stars including Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq to name a few.

ACB Chief Executive Naseeb Khan told Cricbuzz, “Rashid Khan’s participation in domestic cricket reflects several positive changes in Afghanistan. Rashid’s involvement in domestic cricket highlights improvements in security and current peace in Afghanistan. Before the Shpageeza Cricket League, we organized the List A event in Kunduz province, far from Kabul, with the participation of about 20 national players. Successfully hosting the list A and Shpageeza events in a peaceful environment also serves as an invitation for other countries’ cricket teams to visit and play in Afghanistan.”

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“We have a contract (with Trott) until the end of 2024, and we haven’t considered other options even for the Champions Trophy,” said Naseeb Khan. “ACB and Trot have not yet discussed about 2025 and once we discuss about 2025, it would be the perfect time to answer this question.”