Afghanistan captain wants permanent Test venue in India to build strong side

Nine Tests across six venues. 

That's been the Afghanistan cricket team's story in Test cricket ever since they got full-member status in 2018. Not only has it affected their preparation, but it also has left their captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, irked. 

Ahead of the one-off Test against New Zealand in Greater Noida, the Afghan skipper wanted the national team to have one venue and not shuttle between multiple venues.

"If you see, India is our home and when we host teams, the other nations have played more cricket than us here,” Shahidi was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo. 

“Hopefully we will get one good venue here in India and we stick with that. If we stick with one venue, it will be more effective for us,” he added. 

The left-handed batter, who has played eight out of the country’s nine games, has an average of 44.09 in Tests. But other batters in his team do not quite possess such numbers. What could be the reason? 

"Our players have a good record in first-class cricket at our grounds in Afghanistan. We know our conditions very well. So hopefully that time comes in the future when teams come to Afghanistan. Then our average will be even higher than what it is right now and hopefully, our cricket board and BCCI give a good venue for us in India and we play a lot of cricket in one venue,” he said. 

The team from the Hindu Kush Valley are scheduled to play 22 Tests in the current FTP between 2023 and 2027. So far, they have already played three Tests against Bangladesh, Ireland and Sri Lanka. After this Test against New Zealand, they will play six Tests against Zimbabwe, three against Ireland and one each against India, Australia and West Indies.

Shahid feels that his team must play against better sides to improve and learn more on the field.  

"If we get a lot more chances with the good teams, we will improve, and our cricket board is doing that job. Like with New Zealand, if you see their history of Test cricket and where they are in the rankings right now, it's a good opportunity for us and hopefully our cricket board will try harder to give us opportunities against good teams in the future,” he said. 

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