The Afghanistan cricket team "shifted its home base from Sharjah to the UPCA stadium in Noida" where it will play its matches and practice after an MOU was signed on Thursday, according to PTI. According to the MOU with BCCI and Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, the Afghanistan Cricket Board will be able to utilize the facilities of the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, "which has successfully hosted a Ranji Trophy game between Uttar Pradesh and Baroda." ACB CEO Shafiq Stanikzai said, "We were trying a lot from the last few years to get some sort of support from BCCI as Afghanistan, you all know, is an emerging nation, which is knocking the door of Test cricket." BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur insisted that "rubbing shoulders with the greats of Indian cricket will certainly open a new world for the young Afghan players." Thakur said, "Not only they will play their matches here but will also get added supported like a chance to get help from top coaches and a chance to rub shoulders with India's best cricketers." Meanwhile, Thakur "also talked about the strengthening of Indo-Afghan ties through this MOU." Thakur: "Indo-Afghan ties will be strengthened on the political front, people-to-people contact and on the sporting front especially on the cricket field. And as Afghanistan wanted to have a permanent home ground in India, they liked the Greater Noida venue and so it happened" (PTI, 12/10).
