Dubai: Nearly a decade ago,I was reporting at a match between Afghanistan and the UAE at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The Afghanistan team was here to play against the UAE since they did not have a home ground to invite teams to play in their country. Abdul Rehman Bukhatir, who brought international cricket to the UAE, had come for the match, and he asked the Afghanistan team to consider Sharjah Cricket Stadium as their home ground. “Bearing in mind the difficulties they have in Afghanistan, the cricketers deserve to have a place somewhere where they can come and feel that they are at home. Here they have huge local support and they can make full use of all facilities in the Sharjah stadium, including the gymnasium and nets,” remarked Bukhatir, to the joy of the Afghanistan players.
Kabir Khan, the then coach of the Afghanistan team, said: “We are thankful to Bukhatir for this gesture. This is a huge step because nobody has offered us anything like this. Our players will fully utilise the facilities and our cricket board and players are very thankful to him.”
None fathomed then that Bukhatir was opening the doors for a nation that would rise quickly to become a Test playing nation. It has been a fairy tale journey for Afghanistan to attain Test status.
Their journey reflects the passion of a cricket-loving nation and determination among their players.
Watching the passion of this cricketing nation, the UAE’s telecommunications company etisalat stepped forward as their main sponsors and also backed their Inter-Provincial Cup and T20 tournaments, which was named ‘Etisalat Sixes T20 tournament’.
Cricket was played in Afghanistan from 1839 when the British troops played the game in Kabul. But it was only from 1900 that the local people started to take a liking for this sport. It was Afghanistan refugees, who fled the wars in Afghanistan to Pakistan, who played the game. In fact, many of the senior players in the team got their first taste of cricket while living as refugees in Pakistan.
Incidentally, some of the players do not even know their date of birth since they were born while living as refugees.
Despite cricket becoming popular, Afghanistan could never host international matches in their country due to security threats. Yet people loved the game and watched their naturally-talented players play the sport. It was through such hardship that the Afghanistan cricket team went about playing the game to ultimately reach the biggest stage in world cricket.
The Afghanistan Cricket Federation was formed in 1995. They became an International Cricket Council Affiliate member in 2001, and were elevated as Associate member in 2013, and have now become a full member on Thursday, June 22, 2017. Today they also have a home ground in Greater Noida, New Delhi, in India, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s support.
Despite a lack of experience and exposure, Afghanistan challenged the best teams with their aggressive style of cricket. Their national team was formed only in 2001, but through sheer hard work they played in Twenty20 World Cups in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016. Today they have players like Rashid Khan, who is one of the finest leg spinners in the world. Their players are even in demand for Twenty20 leagues with Khan and Mohammad Nabi being picked for the Indian Premier League.
Speaking to Gulf News soon after Afghanistan earned Test status, team coach Lalchand Rajput, who has shaped them into a formidable side, said: “It is a great movement for Afghanistan cricket and the sports-loving people of Afghanistan. Now the players can be called ‘Test players’, which is the real test of a player.”
