"We want India to help us build a stadium; BCCI to train our players" - Iran Under-19 coach Asghar Ali Raeisi
Iran under-19 cricket coach Asghar Ali Raeisi has requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to help build the country's first stadium in Chabahar.
Established in 1992, the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone (CFZ) has reserved 40 hectares for a sports village out of which 10 hectares have been allotted for a cricket stadium with a 4000-seat capacity. However, because of US sanctions on Iran, the country has been unable to gather the resources to complete the stadium.
“Iranian players have talent to play good cricket internationally. But we fail to train them due to lack of infrastructure. I wanted India to help us to build the stadium so Iranian players can prove their mettle in the world,” Raeisi told ANI
“We want Indian cricket management BCCI to train our players and umpiring in Iran so our players also can play cricket well. We would also expect Iranian players to be part to IPL matches,” he added.
Cricket has slowly gained popularity in the southern Chabahar and Baluchistan regions of Iran because of their proximity to neighboring Pakistan.
Cricket came to Iran in the early 1910s via British workers who worked in its oil industry but diminished after the industry was nationalized in 1951. It was re-introduced in the 1990s by Iranians studying abroad. The team became an affiliate member of the ICC in 2003 and an associate member in 2017.
ICC granted all members T20 status in 2018 and Iran have played a few international matches since then against teams like UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar.
"Iranian cricketers take inspiration from MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli" - Raeisi
Asghar Ali Raeisi also stated that he shows videos of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to inspire young cricketers.
“Iranian cricketers take inspiration from MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and other young Indian cricket players," he revelaed.
The coach even said Iranians were disappointed when India lost to Australia in the World Test Championship Final last month.