Afghan cricket league postponed due to COVID-19

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said Thursday that the 8th Shpageeza Cricket League tournament has been postponed due to the 3rd wave of corona virus.

“The Afghanistan Cricket Board had planned to hold the 8th edition of Shpageeza Cricket League in June or July this year, but was postponed for the time being due to the 3rd wave of coronavirus and restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Public Health,” ACB said in a statement.

Last month, the Afghanistan Cricket Board announced an expression of interest in owning the royalties of this edition of Shpageeza Cricket League. A number of national businessmen also shared their interest with the board in sponsoring teams, ACB said.

“ACB wants a large number of traders to invest in the cricket league; the cricket board will extend the process of finding sponsors to help a large number of national traders invest in this season,” read the statement.

ACB said at the time the board was working to speed up the process of identifying franchises and identifying team owners so that they have more time to market and prepare their teams.

Thursday’s announcement comes after educational institutions were closed recently in 16 provinces including Kabul for four weeks after the ministry of public health announced restrictions on learning centers.

The ministry has called on people to wear masks and to pay attention to health protocols.

The Ministry of Public Health on Thursday reported 1,822 new cases of COVID-19 and 56 deaths in the last 24 hours.