Hi Friends, I hope you all are all healthy & fine. Today’s wellness blog titled The Afghan Cricket Story is about the great rise of Afghanistan Cricket. The purpose of writing this Blog in connection with the wellness niche is that Afghanistan is unlike any other country. With decades of endless conflicts and war, and the recent seizing of power by the Taliban in 2022 this country & its people have gone through absolutely everything.
The only shining light currently in Afghanistan is the Afghanistan Cricket Team which has carried itself gracefully despite all odds & showed how sport can mend the nation’s spirit. This was why several Afghanistan players broke into tears on Tuesday after their famous win against Bangladesh, which also helped them clinch a semifinal spot for the first time ever in the World Cup Cricket. Perhaps these players were recalling the years of struggle.
As I am writing this Blog Afghanistan has been knocked out of the Semis courtesy of a defeat against South Africa. But the Afghanistan team reaching Semis & beating heavyweights like New Zealand and Australia in itself is like winning the Final for the Afghanis. Also, after Tuesday’s win against Bangladesh, many of the Indian Cricket Fans including me were cheering for Afghanistan because of India’s (BCCI) hidden role behind Afghanistan’s rise in World Cricket. Also, this is the classic case of Talent meeting a mentor & creating history.
Now let’s know about the Afghan Cricket Story in more detail
The Early Struggle – For me, I first heard about Afghanistan in 1999, through the infamous plane hijack when an Indian Airlines flight was hijacked and taken to Taliban-controlled Kandahar. At that time Social Media was nonexistent & so were smartphones and the Internet revolution was slowly happening. I heard about the Taliban regime, the terrorism mostly through the National News Channel. It was difficult to believe at that time that this terrorism-plagued country could have a Cricket Team.
Even though the Afghanistan Cricket Federation (now ACB) was formed in 1995, the game could not reach the grassroots since all sports were banned by the Taliban. So at the beginning, most of the Afghan players learned cricket in the refugee camps of Pakistan. However, in the year 2000, the Taliban had a change of mind and they approved cricket and as a result International Cricket Council (ICC) gave recognition to Afghanistan Cricket in 2001. This is where the dream began for millions of Pashtuns from Kabul to Herat, from Ghazni to Mazar–I–Sharif. However, with the lack of proper resources & the ongoing conflicts within the country, the Afghanistan Cricket team didn’t make it big straightaway. They improved a bit during 2006-07 & won a couple of domestic tournaments.
Arrival to the Top Stage – After performing well in ICC World Cricket League Division 3, the Afghanistan Cricket Team was awarded the ODI International Status in April 2009 after finishing fifth in the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier. After qualifying for the ICC World Twenty20 in 2010, the next big step for Afghanistan Cricket was qualifying for the World Cup 2015 held in Australia and New Zealand. This was when Afghanistan defeated Scotland by 1 Wicket and recorded their first-ever World Cup Win. Even after winning a few games in T20 World Cups, they were still considered minnows by many despite the talent they possessed.
The entry of BCCI as much needed Mentor – While the rise of Afghanistan cricket is mainly due to the endless struggle & undaunted spirit of Afghani players but the hidden role of India and the Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) cannot be ignored. In 2015, The Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida became the temporary “home ground” for Afghanistan. As a result, Afghanistan shifted its home from Sharjah to Noida and even hoisted Ireland in Greater Noida in 2017. BCCI also helped Afghanistan by hosting a T20 series against Bangladesh in Dehradun. BCCI has also provided Afghanistan with basic cricket facilities & even had former Indian Players like Lalchand Rajput, Manoj Prabhakar, and Ajay Jadeja as Afghanistan National Team coaches. If you remember Ajay Jadeja was the mentor of Afghanistan during the recently concluded 2023 50-over World Cup in India.
After nearly a decade of playing International Cricket, ICC granted full membership (which includes the Test Status) to Afghanistan on 22nd June 2017. Immediately after that Afghanistan played its first-ever Test Match against India between 14th to 18th June 2018. BCCI had also invited Ashraf Ghani who was Afghanistan’s president at that time to watch the team play its first Test Match. The cash-rich Indian Premier League has also helped many Afghanistan Cricketers and over the years the participation of Afghanistan Players in IPL has increased significantly. This year’s IPL had as many as seven players from Afghanistan. So the constant support of BCCI has helped Afghanistan immensely and results are to be seen in their current performances.
The Rise – After getting the full member status from ICC, Afghanistan was still considered by many as team that had talent and was good for a surprise here and there. They also had an ordinary 2019 World Cup and did not grab much attention in the 2021 & 2022 T20 World Cups despite having world-class players like Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib in their ranks. It was finally in the 2023 World Cup in India when Afghanistan showed the world of cricket that they are a force to reckon with. With the likes of former England batter Jonathan Trott as Coach & Ajay Jadeja as a mentor, Afghanistan came to the tournament all games blazing by beating the defending champions England, former world champions Pakistan & Sri Lanka, and almost stunned Australia. They failed to make it to the semis but their performance in the Tournament made everyone see their team differently.
Next was the ongoing T20 World Cup in the Caribbean & USA. Afghanistan has truly shown its worth in the tournament by qualifying for the Semifinals for the first time. After defeating the minnows Uganda & PNG, Afghanistan thrashed the strong New Zealand side by a margin of 84 runs and they qualified for the Super 8 stage of the World Cup for the first time. With the likes of India & Australia in the group many would have not given Afghanistan a chance to qualify for the Semis, especially after losing their first match to India. But Afghanistan stunned the cricketing world by beating Australia by 21 runs & followed it up by winning a nail bitter against Bangladesh by 8 Runs.
Seeing the celebrations of Afghani people back home on Social Media, it felt that at the moment it is only Cricket that is the source of happiness for the people in Afghanistan. From Kabul to Kandahar the celebrations were in full swing giving massive inspiration & huge hope to thousands of youngsters who are struggling with unstable situation, poverty, lack of education, and many more problems in their country.
Afghanistan has been beaten convincingly in the Semifinal by South Africa, but the team reaching the World Cup Semi-Final for the first time will mark a new beginning for the Afghanistan Cricket Team. With the ongoing support of BCCI, it won’t be surprising to see the talented Afghanistan team reach new heights in World Cricket.
With this Wellness Blog, we can take inspiration from the Afghan Cricket Story and their journey from playing cricket in refugee camps in Pakistan to reaching the Semi-Final of the 2024 T20 World Cup. No matter how worse the situation is believe in your unique talent & keep persisting. The universe will see your hard work & struggles and will show you a way ahead through a mentor who will be guiding you to success. You have to decide who that mentor is.