KABUL, Aug 12, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Afghanistan's leading T20 domestic cricket league opened on Monday 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 champions 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 told AFP on condition of anonymity. 

They "will be joining the tournament soon", he added.

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities deployed extra security to the venue of this year's edition of the Shpageeza Cricket League tournament.

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.

ACB chairman Mirwais Ashraf called the league "very important" at the opening ceremony.

"This is a big opportunity for the youth to play with their national heroes and stars, they will learn a lot from them and will become experienced because our star players will come to play in the tournament," he said. 

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.