by S. Ghilzai and Abdullah Qazi / February 5, 2016
Shafiqullah Asmat Stanikzai is the current CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). Stanikzai was born on November 29, 1986 in the province of Logar. President Ashraf Ghani (also from Logar province) appointed Stanikzai as the new CEO of the ACB in late 2014. Stanikzai replaced Noor Mohammad Murad. Prior to him being appointed as CEO, Shafiqullah Stanikzai was the director of the national cricket team. In fact, he has been part of the Afghan national team since it’s beginnings, playing in Kabul with the team with rocks, when they didn’t even have a ball.
Stanikzai believes the sport of cricket plays an important role in unifying the country and sees every cricket player as a hero. In an interview with the magazine Afghan Zariza in January 2015, Stanikzai said that his plans as the CEO is to further develop domestic cricket, and to make the cricket board financially independent. In the same interview he shied away from criticizing the previous administration of the ACB (which he was a part of), but admitted that due to some “controversies”, he had to leave his job with the ACB for almost 2 months. Finally, in the same interview he said that in 10 years, he wants to see Afghanistan among the top 5 cricketing nations.
Shafiqullah Stanikzai’s full interview with the magazine Afghan Zariza
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