Three reasons why fans around the world love the Afghanistan cricket team

Afghanistan is improving day by day in international cricket. They are one of the quickest associate nations to gain both the ODI and Test status. In 2013, they received the associate membership from ICC. The Afghan team gained the ODI status in 2011 and qualified in 2015. In 2017, it also became the 12th nation to receive the Test status.

The first Test between India and Afghanistan was held in India and the visitors lost by a record margin. Recently, BCCI announced India as the official home for Afghanistan cricket. They have played some notable matches in the recently concluded Asia Cup and the 2019 World Cup qualifiers too.

Afghanistan has qualified for the 2019 World cup by beating West Indies in the World Cup Qualifiers. There is a considerable fan following for them in India too. Cricket fans around have been elated to see their progress in international cricket. Let's have a look at the three reasons why cricket fans love Afghanistan cricket.

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#1 Passion for the game

Afghanistan now holds the record for scoring most runs in a T20 innings

The ardent fans follow all the small nation tournaments too. Though the interest might have reduced as compared to the 90s era, the young generation is quite interested.

The Afghanistan cricket team also falls in the same basket when it comes to passion towards the game of cricket. Each player of the team equally contributes to the game. They are trained really well, even with less training facilities which is something that doesn't come naturally unless the players don't have a real passion.

They play hard in the middle and enjoy themselves off the field. Not only Indian fans but also cricketers around the world enjoy their success. Chris Gayle even invited the entire team to dance with him after they won the 2019 World Cup Qualifiers.

#2 Raw talent

Rashid Khan holds the record for the fastest to 100 wickets in ODI

Cricket fans around the world always appreciate if you have real talent. Afghan cricketers are naturally talented. Rashid Khan once posted a video playing backyard cricket with his brothers. One of his brothers bowled leg spin as well as Rashid Khan. It sums the talent factory of Afghanistan.

Rashid Khan is currently the number one ranked ODI bowler and also holds the record for the fastest player to take 100 wickets in the ODI history. Not just Rashid, there are quite a lot of talented players lined up in their team.

In the second T20I against Ireland, Hazratullah Zazai's unbeaten 162 off 62 balls helped them to post 278/3, the highest ever total in T20 history. Also, they recorded the highest ever partnership in T20 history. During the innings, they amassed 23 sixes which is the highest ever by any team in T20 internationals.

#3 Competing at the highest level

Afghanistan won the 2019 World cup qualifier

International cricket is all about competing with high-quality cricketers. For a nation like Afghanistan where there are not many facilities, they have worked really hard to reach the international stage. The real game begins while competing with world-class players. The cricket loving nation does this considerably well.

When they play against the high ranked teams, they try their level best to come out on the top. In the recent Asia Cup they beat Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and tied the game against India and almost qualified for the Asia Cup finals.

They have lost only three T20 internationals out of 23. Though most of the games they have played are against low ranked teams, winning consistently sums up the quality of the side. The 2019 World Cup is a great stage for them to show the world who they are and hope they can deliver high-quality performances.