NEW DELHI, INDIA — Afghanistan and India have used their ongoing bilateral cricket series to strengthen sporting ties beyond the boundary, bringing players and senior cricket officials together at a special gathering hosted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board in New Delhi on Wednesday evening.
The event was attended by players from Afghanistan and India as well as senior officials from the Afghanistan Cricket Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
While the two national teams are competing against each other on the field, the gathering highlighted the wider cricket relationship between Afghanistan and India.
Officials and players addressed those attending the event, while Afghanistan’s players and ACB leadership presented souvenirs to the Indian team and BCCI representatives in keeping with Afghan traditions.
BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla, who attended the gathering, described the occasion as part of the cricketing friendship between Afghanistan and India.
The relationship between the two cricket systems has developed over several years.
India has previously provided venues for Afghanistan to stage international cricket when matches could not be hosted inside Afghanistan. Afghanistan also played their historic first Test match against India in Bengaluru in June 2018.
The current T20I series represents another significant chapter in that relationship. Afghanistan are the designated home side for the three matches being played at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
For Afghanistan, playing a bilateral series against India provides high-level competition while also strengthening institutional links between the two cricket boards.
Wednesday’s gathering demonstrated another side of that relationship: although Afghanistan and India compete for results on the field, cricket continues to provide a platform for sporting engagement between players and officials from both countries.
