Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Provincial Grade I Tournament Begins on February 20

The 15th edition of the Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Provincial Grade I Tournament, the second domestic cricket event of the year, is set to kick off on February 20. The event features 12 provincial teams that are divided into 2 groups and will be played across four different venues in Kandahar, Kunar and Nangarhar provinces.

The tournament will be played in a one-day format with a total of 33 games spread out over 16 days until March 6. The 12 competing teams will be divided into 2 groups of 6 teams each, with each team playing other teams in their group once. Two teams with the most points in each group will advance to the Semi-Finals of the event.

Four teams—Nangarhar, Laghman, Kabul, and Logar—secured spots in this year’s event from its previous edition, while six other teams—Kabul B, Khost B, Paktia, Balkh, Nangarhar B, and Faryab— have qualified to the event by topping their groups in the recently held WAK Provincial Grade II Tournament in January.

Additionally, "ACB XI" and "Chairman XI" are the other two teams that are part of the event to ensure deserving players from Grade II get an opportunity to showcase their talents at the Grade I level.

Group A features Kabul, Laghman, Faryab, Khost B, Nangarhar B, and ACB XI, which will compete across two venues in Kandahar province. Group B comprises Nangarhar, Paktia, Logar, Balkh, Kabul B, and Chairman XI, playing across venues in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces.

Nazeem Jaar Abdulrahimzai, Manager of Domestic Cricket at ACB, is pleased that two provincial-level events are being held in just over the first two months of the year. "Having two consecutive tournaments in the first part of the year is a good sign. The grade II tournament was a success in terms of developing high-quality cricket, which resulted in producing high-quality players. We are committed to the development of domestic cricket as it serves as a backup to national-level cricket.”

The Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Provincial Grade I event is the second of several domestic events planned for the year 2023, which will be followed by numerous white and red-ball events.