Afghan cricket seeks stronger regional support in China ahead of the sport's return to the Olympic Games
A delegation of the Afghanistan Cricket Board is staying in China as part of a programme of technical cooperation and sports exchanges taking place at a moment when cricket is entering a particularly important period of international positioning. According to reports from Afghan and Asian sports sources, the visit was organised after an official invitation from the Chinese side, and its aim is to strengthen sporting ties, exchange expert knowledge and expand cricket in the region. The talks focus on player development, coach education, work with younger age groups, social inclusion through sport and opportunities for cricket to be presented more strongly to audiences in China. Such an initiative gains additional weight because cricket will return to the Olympic programme in Los Angeles in 2028 after an absence of 128 years. The International Olympic Committee previously confirmed that cricket at the Los Angeles Games will be played in the T20 format, which, because of its shorter duration and more dynamic rhythm, is more suitable for a broader television and stadium audience.
A visit focused on knowledge, promotion and sporting ties
According to Ariana News, the delegation of the Afghanistan Cricket Board travelled to China to strengthen sports diplomacy and technical cooperation between the two countries. The Olympic Council of Asia states that the visit will include discussions on participation in cricket, community involvement and the development of sport in society, together with workshops, demonstration activities and meetings with Chinese sports stakeholders. Such a programme shows that the visit was not conceived merely as a protocol meeting, but as an attempt to transfer Afghan cricket experience to a market where the sport still does not have the status it enjoys in South Asia. In recent years, Afghanistan has become one of the most recognisable examples of rapid growth in world cricket, especially in the limited formats of the game. For Chinese organisers, such cooperation may be useful because it comes from a system that, despite limited infrastructural and political circumstances, has managed to build an internationally competitive national team.
According to information published by China Economic Net, the Afghan delegation arrived in Hangzhou as part of an initiative for technical cooperation and sports exchange with Chinese authorities. The report states that the delegation includes national coach Nawroz Mangal and players Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Faisal Shinozada and Wahidullah Zadran. The same source writes that Pakistani players are also involved in the regional activities, making the initiative a broader format of cooperation between China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Such a structure is especially important because cricket in the Asian space is not only a competitive sport, but also a channel for sporting contacts, the exchange of experts and the creation of new development centres. Hangzhou appears to be a logical location for such programmes because it has already hosted major international sporting events, including the Asian Games.
Why the Chinese context matters for cricket
Cricket is very popular globally, but its popularity is distributed very unevenly. The strongest bases are in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and the Caribbean, while in China the sport is still in the development phase. That is precisely why technical assistance programmes, demonstration matches and coaching workshops can have greater value than one-off promotional events. In order for the sport to expand, it is necessary to build a system that includes coaches, schools, local clubs, competitions, umpire education and accessible infrastructure. According to the report by the Olympic Council of Asia, the visit programme also includes workshops and sports-technology content, which points to an attempt to connect practical training with modern approaches to game analysis and sports development.
For the Afghanistan Cricket Board, the visit to China can have several layers of meaning. The first is sporting: Afghanistan seeks to maintain the status of a serious international national team and expand its network of cooperation beyond traditional cricket centres. The second is institutional: through such meetings, the board gains space to present its coaches, players and development programmes. The third is diplomatic: sports exchanges often enable communication even where political relations are complex or burdened by broader international circumstances. In that sense, cricket becomes a mechanism of soft power, but also a practical tool for developing sporting standards in the region. In such programmes, Afghanistan can appear as a country that has relevant experience in creating top-level players under conditions that are not comparable with the financially strongest cricket systems.
The Olympic return changes the strategic value of cricket
The decision to return cricket to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 significantly changes the way national federations and sports institutions view the development of the sport. In October 2023, the International Olympic Committee confirmed that cricket, along with baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse and squash, would be included in the programme of the Los Angeles Games. According to data published on official Olympic channels, cricket will be played in the T20 format, with six men's and six women's national teams planned, with a total of 90 athlete quota places per gender. This means that each national team will be able to have 15 players, adapting the Olympic format to the existing structure of international T20 cricket. The sport previously appeared at the Games only in 1900 in Paris, so its return in 2028 is presented as one of the longest breaks between two Olympic appearances by a sport.
According to an announcement by the International Cricket Council, the Olympic tournaments in Los Angeles are expected to be played from 12 to 29 July 2028. Official Olympic sources state that the matches will be held at a temporary, purpose-built venue in Pomona, in Los Angeles County. In April 2026, it was announced that construction of a dedicated cricket stadium had begun there, which is interpreted in international cricket circles as an important infrastructural step ahead of the sport's return to the Games. Such a decision also has symbolic value because cricket is returning to the Olympic stage in the United States, a country where the sport does not have a tradition comparable to its status in South Asia, Australia or the United Kingdom. That is precisely why organisers and international bodies emphasise the T20 format as the most suitable for attracting new audiences.
Afghanistan sees an opportunity in regional expansion
In cricket, Afghanistan has built the identity of a national team that quickly broke through among serious international opponents, especially thanks to talented bowlers, players specialised for T20 leagues and an increasingly strong domestic base. According to official data from the Afghanistan Cricket Board, the national and domestic calendar includes international appearances, regional competitions and development tournaments, showing that the board is trying to maintain competitive continuity at several levels. In that context, the visit to China is not an isolated event, but part of a broader effort to connect Afghan cricket with new markets and institutions. For players taking part in such programmes, this may also mean a different role: besides sporting performance, they become promoters of the game and practical demonstrators of cricket's technical elements. For coach Nawroz Mangal, whose name is cited in reports from Hangzhou, such a programme also includes the transfer of expert experience from the national team system.
The expansion of cricket towards China also has a regional dimension because the sport already strongly relies on Asian competitions, leagues and audiences. India is the economically and media-wise most powerful centre of world cricket, Pakistan and Bangladesh have large fan bases, and Afghanistan has become an important sporting actor despite challenges in the domestic environment. China, on the other hand, offers great growth potential, but also a need for systematic work because cricket is not a mass sport there. In that relationship, the Afghan experience may be interesting precisely because it shows how a recognisable national-team profile can be built through targeted programmes, work with talent and international competitions. If Chinese sports structures want to develop cricket in the long term, cooperation with Asian partners who already have competitive experience may be more important than short-lived promotional campaigns.
Sports diplomacy in practice
Reports on the Afghan delegation in China emphasise the concept of sports diplomacy, which is especially important in the Asian context. Sports diplomacy does not mean only official meetings, but also joint training sessions, workshops, matches, equipment exchanges, expert seminars and the opening of channels between federations, coaches and local sports communities. According to available information, the programme in China includes precisely such elements: talks on sports development, participation in workshops, matches organised by domestic cricket authorities and visits to facilities connected with sports technology and innovation. In this way, cricket is presented as a sport that can connect different actors and create space for longer-term cooperation. For countries that do not have the same level of infrastructure, such exchanges can be an important way of compensating for differences in knowledge, equipment and organisational standards.
In Afghanistan's case, sports diplomacy has additional complexity because of the country's international position and the limitations faced by many institutions. Cricket has nevertheless remained one of the most visible areas in which Afghanistan maintains international recognition. National-team players and coaches often appear in international leagues and competitions, and the national team attracts attention because of its results against stronger opponents. The visit to China can therefore also be read as an attempt to turn that sporting capital into institutional cooperation. For the Chinese side, the benefits are different: it gains access to the experience of a country that has built a competitively recognisable cricket system in a relatively short period, while at the same time being able to test models for promoting the sport in its own environment.
A regional initiative ahead of the Olympic cycle
According to China Economic Net, the initiative in Hangzhou also includes Pakistani participants, giving the event a broader regional framework. Pakistan is one of the traditionally strongest cricket nations, while Afghanistan in recent years has represented an example of accelerated sporting growth. In such a triangle, China can gain an opportunity to learn from two different models: the Pakistani one, which relies on a long tradition, a mass base and historical successes, and the Afghan one, which is based on rapid talent development and growing international experience. Such a combination can be useful in youth programmes, coaching seminars and demonstration meetings. If cooperation continues, it is possible that such programmes will serve as a basis for more frequent regional camps, friendly matches and the education of Chinese coaches.
The Olympic cycle further increases the importance of such initiatives because national federations will have to adapt to new criteria, qualification models and public interest. Although qualification details for all places in the Olympic tournament are not equally important for every national team at this stage, the very fact that only six teams per competition will appear in Los Angeles makes the competition extremely demanding. This means that federations will have to fight not only for results, but also for stable development programmes, expert staffs and international preparations. In that context, Afghanistan has sporting ambitions, but also an interest in profiling itself as a partner in the development of cricket beyond traditional centres. China, on the other hand, can use cricket's Olympic return as an incentive to create a broader domestic base, especially among young people and in school programmes.
Broader significance for a sport that is expanding globally
The return of cricket to the Olympic Games could influence the way the sport is funded and developed in countries where cricket still does not have strong institutional support. Olympic status often facilitates access to state sports programmes, investment in infrastructure, media visibility and school projects. For countries that are only developing cricket, such as China, that status can be an argument for creating new programmes and including the sport in broader physical culture strategies. For already established but infrastructurally challenged systems, such as Afghanistan's, the Olympic return can open additional opportunities for cooperation, training camps and international contacts. Therefore, the visit of the Afghan delegation to China is important not only as a bilateral sporting event, but also as part of the broader reshaping of the cricket map ahead of Los Angeles 2028.
Whether such initiatives will have a long-term effect will depend on continuity after the visit ends. One-off workshops can attract attention, but the development of a sport requires coaches, competitions, academies, clear youth programmes and the possibility for talented players to regularly face quality opponents. According to available information, the current programme in China includes several levels of activity for precisely that reason, from expert talks to practical sporting content. Success will be measured by whether such cooperation grows into more lasting projects and whether cricket in China gains a broader local base. For Afghanistan, which has already found in cricket one of its most recognisable international sporting identities, this is an opportunity to use that recognition beyond the field.
Sources:
- Ariana News – report on the departure of the Afghanistan Cricket Board delegation to China for technical cooperation and sports diplomacy (link)
- Olympic Council of Asia – information on the visit programme, workshops, social inclusion and cricket development in China (link)
- China Economic Net – data on the programme in Hangzhou, members of the Afghan delegation and regional cooperation with Pakistani participants (link)
- International Olympic Committee – decision of the 141st IOC Session on the inclusion of cricket and other additional sports in the Los Angeles 2028 programme (link)
- Olympics.com – data on the T20 format, number of national teams and quota places for Olympic cricket in Los Angeles 2028 (link)
- International Cricket Council – announcement on the schedule of Olympic cricket from 12 to 29 July 2028 (link)
- Olympics.com – information on the start of construction of the cricket stadium in Pomona for Los Angeles 2028 (link)
- Afghanistan Cricket Board – official information on the calendar and domestic competitions of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (link)