‘Free Tel ke badle Stadium sahi rahega’ – Fans react as Iran’s Cricket coach asks Indian Cricket Board for help in building stadium in Chabahar

An Iranian Cricket coach has appealed to the Indian Cricket Board to visit Chabahar and help in building an International Standard Cricket Stadium there. Moreover, he urged the Indian Cricket Board to impart training to their players so they can someday excel in cricket at the international level. In an exclusive Interview with Asian News International (ANI), Asghar Ali Raeisi, the Iranian U-19 coach, expressed the aspirations of all Iranian Cricketers.

He said that Indian Cricketers MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli are the most popular cricketers in Iran. He said, “MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli are the most celebrated cricketers here among the Iranian players. They take inspiration from them, we want the BCCI to train our players in Iran so our players also can play cricket well”.

‘Iranian players have the talent to play good cricket internationally’ – Iran U-19 Coach Asghar Ali Raeisi

Notably, due to sanctions by the United States of America, Iran has not been able to raise enough funds internationally to build a world-class Stadium at Chabahar. The Chabahar Free Zone (CFZ) has reserved 10 hectares of land to build a Stadium that is planned to have a seating capacity of 4000. They have been struggling to find investors due to the sanctions. Notably, Iran’s location is strategic for India in the sense that it shares borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan and plays a key role in the trade and commerce of the region.

Raeisi further urged Indian Cricket Board to help in their stadium building. He said, “Iranian players have the talent to play good cricket internationally. But we fail to train them due to a lack of infrastructure. I wanted India to help us to build the stadium so Iranian players can prove their mettle in the world. We want Indian cricket management to train our players and umpire in Iran so our players also can play cricket well. We would also expect Iranian players to be part of IPL matches.”

Here’s how fans reacted to the coach’s statements: