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KABUL (PAN): The Etisalat Cricket Challenge Cup, featuring 20 teams, got underway simultaneously in eastern Nangarhar and central Kabul provinces on Thursday, officials said.
In the capital, Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal, also the patron of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), inaugurated the 16-day event at the Kabul International Cricket Stadium.
He said that inter-provincial cricket tournaments could play a significant role in promoting the game and hunting talent. He promised the continuation of such events in the future, saying the process would be extended to all provinces.
Zakhilwal said cricket had developed a lot across the country in recent years, with the national side winning mega international events.
On the occasion, the ACB chief executive said sports, especially cricket, could play a key role in bringing peace and stability, as people with different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds thronged stadiums to watch it.
To promote domestic cricket, the ACB chief said in addition to establishing two stadiums in Kabul and Nangarhar, a number of similar facilities and academies had been built in provinces.
Haji Ahmad Shah Paktian, who is responsible for the tournament in Kabul, said the participating teams had been divided into four groups.
The two groups playing in Kabul included Paktika, Takhar, Bamyan, Badakhshan, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Jawzjan, Nuristan and Samangan, he said.
The the groups in Nangarhar are comprised of Ghor, Zabul, Balkh, Kunduz, Herta, Helmand, a Kuchi tribe team from Parwan and Kunar.
