Photo Credit: Afghanistan Cricket Board
The 13th edition of Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Provincial Grade II competitions, the first domestic event of the year, is all set to get underway on February 10. The event features 29 provincial teams which are divided into 6 groups and will be played across three different venues in Khost, Nangarhar, and Kandahar provinces.
The tournament will be played in a one-day format and a total of 56 games will be played across 22 days from February 10 to March 2. The participating teams are divided into 6 groups with the first 5 groups consisting of 5 teams while the last group containing 4 teams.
Kabul B, Helmand, Herat, Uruzgan, and Ghazi are the five teams that are placed in Group A. Kandahar, Maidan Wardak, Farah, Zabul, and Nimroz are the other five teams that are located in Group B. The competitions in these two groups are scheduled to be played in Kandahar Cricket Ground.
Group C features Khost B, Paktia, Bamyan, Takhar, and Parwan provincial teams while Kochian, Baghlan, Logar, Paktika, and Sar-e-Pul provinces are sited in Group D of the competitions. The matches in these two groups of the competitions will be played in Khost Province.
The next five teams are Nangarhar B, Kunar, Nooristan, Kapisa, and Balkh provincial teams that are included in Group E, followed by a 4-team group F that is consisted of Kunduz, Laghman, Samangan, and Jowzjan provinces. The competitions in these two groups are scheduled to be played in Ghazi Amanullah Khan Cricket stadium of Nangarhar province.
All the participating teams will play once against each other in their respective groups with the table topper in each group advancing to Grade One competitions, which are considered as the leading provincial one-day event of the ACB which will be conducted soon after the completion of the Grade II event.
The competitions are considered to be quite important in terms of producing new talents and contributing to the development of the game in the country. Mr. Naseeb Khan, the CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board is glad to have the tournament commenced in which 29 teams will participate and nearly 600 players will have the opportunity to showcase their abilities.
“Having 29 teams in a provincial tournament is a positive sign for the development of the game in Afghanistan. We are committed to taking the game to all parts of the country and it feels good to see the efforts coming through”: added Mr. Naseeb Khan.
The Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Provincial Grade II event is the first of many events that are included in the domestic cricket plan for the year 2022, which will be followed by a 12-team grade one event in March.
Name of Author: Afghanistan Cricket Board
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is the governing body for cricket in Afghanistan. It joined the ICC in 2001, became an associate member in 2013, and a full member in 2017. The ACB is also part of the Asian Cricket Council.
