With the T20 World Cup just a month away, questions were raised whether Afghanistan men’s team will be allowed to participate if they choose to play under Taliban's flag. In an exclusive chat with Sports Tak, Afghanistan Cricket Board Chief Azizullah Fazli has confirmed that the Mohammed Nabi-led team will participate in the quadrennial event scheduled to be played in the UAE from October 17 under the country’s usual flag and not go into the event under the Taliban flag.
As per the protocols, all the participating nations in the T20 World Cup are supposed to submit their flags under which they will be participating and Fazli has cleared that the Taliban-controlled country has submitted the national flag of Afghanistan to the International Cricket Council (ICC). Sports Tak has enquired with the ICC about the same and a source has confirmed that the world body are planning to go with the country’s usual flag.
On being asked how confident he was about the team’s participation in the T20 World Cup, Fazli said,
“We are going to participate, there is no doubt.”
Talking about the current situation of cricket in the country, he said,
“As of now everything is all right, there is nothing to be worried about. Things are changing but cricket will see no impact. Our players are preparing for the World Cup. So, there are no issues."