Afghanistan creating a stir in international cricket

Afghanistan registered their first victory over a Test playing nation when they defeated Bangladesh in Asia Cup

Asia Cup 2014 Match 9

Afghanistan vs Bangladesh

In just their fourth ODI against a Test playing nation, Afghanistan stunned Bangladesh on the back of a fantastic partnership between Asghar Stanikzai and Samiullah Shenwari.

Well we, can say that these Afghan batsmen live up to their heavy names for they hit some heavy shots, which took the game away from the favourites, Bangladesh. The commentators didn’t seem to stop praising the team’s enthusiasm. The Afghani team sure seems to be a force to reckon with in international cricket, but how much do we really know about the Afghani cricketers?

If we go down the history of cricket in Afghanistan, we will stumble upon a match played in Afghanistan among the British troops in 1839. Unlike in other colonial countries, the British did not feel the need to leave a cricketing legacy in this nation which was soon going to be severely ravaged by war.

One would usually associate refugee camps with a sight of despair, but the Afghani cricketers learned their art from these very camps in Pakistan. Nawroz Mangal and Mohammad Nabi are some of the names who originated from such surroundings.

Taj Malook, the father of Afghan cricket, fondly remembers how during his days in the refugee camps, where he played cricket, he would dream of creating a national team for his nation once peace in his country is restored.

He started out in Pakistan itself where he would go from camp to camp in search of good players, but faced rejection everywhere as the fathers thought that their sons were wasting their time playing cricket. Success continued to elude Malook but he persevered and was able to set up the Afghan cricket federation in Kabul under the auspices of the country’s Olympic committee.

We have to praise this man’s power of persuading people. One of the country’s most valued players, Nawroz Mangal is travelling the world with his team and scoring runs, all because of Malook who convinced Mangal’s father to let his son pursue cricket. Today, Mangal’s father would be thanking God for he made the right decision in letting his son becoming a cricketer. Otherwise a national treasure would have been lost.

During the ongoing Asia cup, Afghanistan has displayed the huge potential that their bowling attack possesses. The team has some interesting characters!

The wicket-keeper Mohammad Shehzad’s celebrations are something you don’t want to miss. Shehzad, who is an ardent fan of Indian skipper MS Dhoni, has added the Helicopter shot into his array of shots. Fast-pacer Shapoor Zadran has been seen celebrating the fall of a wicket by imitating the action of a javelin thrower. I don’t know actually if he realises that or not!

Plus, we have a Jason Statham lookalike in fast bowler Mirwais Ashraf! See for yourself.

Mirwais Ashraf

Pakistan deserve a lot of credit for the development of cricket in Afghanistan, as they allowed Afghanistan to play in their domestic tournaments. The Taliban had banned cricket at first, but afterwards made an exception and cricket flourished in the country. The Afghanistan cricket team was granted associate membership of the ICC on 27 June 2013.

“Afghanistan is the only country that receives the Associate membership in a short period of time in reward to the efforts Afghanistan made for the promotion of cricket,” Dr Noor Muhammad, CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), said on the occasion.

As I write this article today, somewhere in Afghanistan, a stadium is being constructed where domestic matches will be played.Some of them have already been constructed and through Harsha Bhogle’s outstanding commentary, I came to know that a domestic cricketing structure is in place in the country and the stadium’s are getting huge crowd for every single match.

The Afghanistan cricket team’s achievements bring immense joy to the Afghani people.

Perhaps cricket is indeed giving the war-torn country what it needs the most – unity!