AN AFGHAN DREAM

As 06 year old Aban played with his friends the Afghan flag flew high in the backdrop over the National cricket stadium of Kabul , A Stadium with a capacity of 6000 spectators and the home of Afghan Cricket . It is refreshing to see these sights after the country witnessed one of the darkest periods in its history from 1988-2001. War still continuous but mostly in northern parts of the country. Generations were lost as the country plunged in a deep state of poverty. Since 2001 US led reforms have improved the image of this war torn nation but what is refreshing is to witness the increase in the popularity of various sports . Buzkashi ( A game played on Horse back) is the national game of Afghanistan and till recently had been no.1 sport followed by soccer at no.2 , in popularity , cricket came only after these two both in terms of fan following and the facilities at hand, however things have started to change in past 12 months, the success of Afghan cricket team have soared up the popularity of the game which might not have still taken over Buzkashi but is now almost on par with no.1 game of the country . For a sport which was not even played in Country till 14 years ago , the growth is remarkable.

Cricket was never played in Afghanistan earlier barring few British Soldiers who played it in 19th Century during their stay in Kabul . One of the main reason the experts point out is the geographical location of Afghanistan . The Country has been mostly influenced by its Western neighbours like Iran and Iraq were Football is a prime sport .Apart from Football ,Buzkashi has been another popular game that drives whole of Afghanistan , with majority of the world having images of Afghans playing the dangerous sport on Horse . After Soviets left the country in 1988 , the country submerged into a bloody war which forced thousand flee to neighbouring Pakistan . This was same time when Pakistan won the World Cup in Australia in 1992 and the game touched new heights in Pakistan , the popularity of the sport also struck the refugee Afghans who were mostly living in camps in Peshawar and area near by in Frontier Province . Taz Malik , known as founding father of Afghan Cricket fell for the game when he first saw it and decided to create a national team of Afghanistan . This was the moment when the journey of Afghan cricket began and the foundation was laid in the Kacchi Garhi Refugee Camp of Peshawar, where Malik used to live, it was here that first ever cricket team comprising of Afghans was made . It was difficult for Malik to find boys for cricket , not because they didn't liked it but because their parent thought that they were just wasting their time out . However Malik never gave up and with sheer determination kept on working towards establishing a cricket team of the country whose future was uncertain .However it was due to his efforts that cricket touched Kabul along with Allah Dad Noori , Malik formed Afghan Cricket Federation in 1995 with an aim to create national team of the country. This was a time when Afghanistan was fully controlled by The Talibans and their was danger that they might had to face their repercussions . Luckily after the initial resistant Taliban accepted cricket probably because they were closer to Pakistan and visiting refugee camps brought them nearer to the game .

In 2002 when Malik returned Afghanistan along with other refugees , he brought with him the game . An year earlier national team was formed and ICC gave Afghanistan Cricket Affiliate status . It clearly showed lot of ground works were going behind the scene , the only wait was war to get over and once it ended in 2002 , Cricket started to gain popularity among locals. In 2003 at Chaman-i-Hozori ground in Kabul the first ever trials for selection of Afghanistan's national team were done . Almost 14 teams gathered for participating on a ground which was nothing more than reminiscent of a country battered all over by the war . Apart from few equipments which Malik and Dad got from the English counties as donation , they didn’t had anything else which we call basic facilities . However to everyone surprise they got the sponsorship for the tournament , it was being sponsored by Olympia Lube Oil. It was the effort and determination of Malik and Dad which started to make things happen . The tournament unearthed number of talented players who later went on to play for Afghanistan. This included current Captain Ashgar Stanikzai, spinners like Mohammad Nabi and Shaimullah Shenwari , fast bowler Hamid Hassan , who is said to have skipped his exams to participate in the trials . The trials also included Karim Sadiq , brother of Taj Malik who later went on to play international cricket for his country. The players from the trials were not only to be selected for national team but also for the U-17 and U-19 teams as well.

A year later Afghanistan played its first International cricket fixture , The Asian Cricket Championship held in Singapore in 2004 . The players were going out of Afghanistan for the first time and it was their first-hand experience on airplane . The team finished as 6th out of 15 teams in the tournament and was appreciated for the cricket they played . The start was there and for Taj and Dad it was enough to put Afghanistan on cricket map of the world. As Malik later pointed out in an interview, at that time when they were starting they not only had the challenge to bring the kids to the game and identify the best talents among them but they also needed to assure their parents that cricket had future for their kids. In all those initial years of struggle they didn’t received any help from the Afghanistan Government.

In spite of no assistance from government ,Afghanistan cricket kept on improving .In 2006 ACC trophy the team finished at no.3 in 17 teams Tournament . The promise was there but the game needed mass recognition which came in 2008 when they won the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 final against Jersey . The title proved to be the breakthrough for Afghan Cricket as the popularity of the game increased among the public though Afghanistan lost the ACC trophy in 2008 and Taj Malik was removed from the post of coach but Cricket in country was never same . Infact after this the government took the game seriously and started assisting Afghan Cricket but for Taz it was the end of journey he was unpopularly removed as a coach, from government . An year later he was brought as an assistant coach but the things were never same . He later left Cricket to pursue religion but his contribution to Afghanistan Cricket is unmatched. Even now many senior cricketers visit him for suggestion and advice .

  In 2009 Afghanistan played their first ever Oneday International against Scotland at Benoni's Willmore park and an year later they were playing in ICC T-20 World Cup in the Caribbeans with big boys. The World Cup was a platform for them where they needed to show the world that they belong to the stage . Despite their failure to qualify for the 2011 WC , they continued to impress the cricketing fraternity . In 2014 ICC-T20 World Cup they stunned the world by thumping the hosts Bangladesh . While the 2015 World Cup in Australia and NewZealand saw them playing a fearless brand of cricket which impressed everyone right from common public to experts and critics. The biggest upset occurred last year in T-20 World cup in India when they defeated three time world champions ( Two 50 over and 1 t-20 ) West Indies who later went on to win their 4th title, showing how far their cricket have progressed. Earlier in late 2015 they won an away series in Zimbabwe . Despite all of their problems Zimbabwe is still a test team and much senior to them and hence Afghanistan's achievement cannot be undermined . The most impressive thing about Afghanistan have been that in spite of the lack of facilities and with experience of only 14 years behind them they continued to excel and have surprised the whole world . In recent years their cricket have started taking a professional shape with more quality personnels being associated with them . The appointment of Manoj Prabhakar, Inzamam Ul Haq , Kabir Khan and now Lalchand Rajput is a step in direction to make Afghan cricket more stronger . The Selection of players like Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan in IPL clearly shows how the world have accepted their talent.

 

However as Malik and other experts emphasize that they still have to go long way . One of the major hindrance which the cricket faces is that it is deemed to be a Pashtun dominated sport. The other groups like Tajiks and Hajaras are not able to relate themselves with the game because they are not properly represented here . This is the reason why cricket in spite of being among top 3 sport and according to some experts now no.1 game is not a popular game among them like soccer where the team is more diverse and properly represented ,but then for many it depends on the place people went as refugees during war . Jahan , a 21 year old university student from Kandhar , an Uzbek and an ardent fan of soccer saying “ I cant relate myself with cricket as there is no one who I can idolize” . Afghan cricket administrators will have to make effort for spreading the game in whole country to ensure it includes every group in it , then only Afghanistan can think of being competitive.

In recent years Afghanistan have taken greater strides in World Cricket and have collected lot of accolades for their brave and fearless brand of cricket .They are playing more and more matches on regular basis , performance against senior teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have been impressive , however chances to play against top eight test nations have been rare . As Captain Ashgar Stainkzai rightly pointed out that “ more we will play the better we will become'' . As cricket have become professional and game money oriented, playing against Afghanistan doesn’t seem profitable for major test nations . It is a major reason why they have only played 16 matches against full members . To grow Ireland and Afghanistan it is important that ICC provides them more chances . The richer and stronger countries must also understand that in the initial stages they had struggled too .Afghanistan are one of those rare teams who in spite of being new are attractive to watch, players like Ahmed Sehzad, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Ali are the ones who have been acknowledged all over the world . Especially Ahmed Sehzad even with his bulky frame is a magnificent stroke player who have impressed experts like Nasser Hussain and Sourav Ganguly .

Afghanistan was ruined by war which spread across three decades . All the growth and economic development was lost and reputation damaged in the painful years of fighting .The eyes of the generation who have seen life before war and after war describe those vivid times . Yet the best thing to happen for the country of late has been cricket , When everything seemed lost and the moments of joy were rare , in such a situation the game has provided the people much needed relief.The success of national cricket team have made cricket the most popular sports in the landlocked nation and its popularity has spread like fire .It can be understood by the fact it is not limited to a generation . 8 year old Hamid says in a cereal tones in pashto “ I want to be like Nabi, no one can play his bowling ''. Meanwhile his elder brother Rashid who bowls leg break and want to become like his name sake leggie Rashid Khan celebrated wildly with his team-mates as he bowled the batsman behind his legs ala Shane Warne .Has we witnessed making of first great leg spinner from Afghanistan,? time will tell but we shouldn't be surprised if he does so , as the craze and talent across the country baffles everyone .

It has been only 14 years since cricket came in this country from a refugee camp of Kachi Gari in Peshawar . In all these years Afghanistan cricket have experienced a lot from moments of pain and agony to instances of joys and celebrations . Probably nothing can better tell this than a picture from 2006 where Navroz Mangal , Ashgar Stanikzai and Shapoor Zadran can be seen as village folks gathered to discuss Cricket . The journey of these years have been an incredible one and the future seems promising .The dream that thousands of Hamids', Abans' and Rashids' have in their eyes, a dream to play for their country ,will surely go a longway to ensure that the dream which Taz saw 25 years back in that refugee camp of Peshawar .. An Afghan Dream !!!, will surely come true .