Unleashing the Afghan Warriors (An article written for Sports Action website)

An account of the journey from the refugee camps to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

You talk about Afghanistan and the first thing that comes to the mind is despair and the struggle for survival. Amidst the refugee camps, gunshots and missiles, there lies a strong will to come out of it. The walls full of bullet marks and the windows shattered by attacks are common sights. There has always been immense passion and the urge to achieve, but the opportunities haven’t existed.

Afghanistan has qualified for the most celebrated cricket tournament, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Twenty years ago, cricket did not exist there. Not many know that the refugee camps outside Peshawar gave rise to Afghan cricket. In 1980s, cricket became popular in Peshawar among the Pushto speaking community of the Pathans and the city, soon became a hub of cricketers; Afghans who were born in and around refugee camps outside the city were also selected to play. There has been no stopping them thereafter.

The Afghanistan cricket team was formed in 2001. There were no monetary gains and the players played without proper equipments and facilities. They soon registered for the ICC Division five competition and their spirit made them cross every hurdle that there was. Soon, they qualified for the division four and their elevation to division three got them the One day status that they so desperately wanted. They qualified for the T20 World Cup and a win against Pakistan in the 2010 Asian games was all they needed to make a firm statement to the cricketing world. They also won a match against Hong Kong in 2014 ICC World Twenty20.

Now that they are a part of this World Cup, they would be looking to prove their worth and at the same time, take their game to a higher level. Their captain Mohammad Nabi, raised in Peshawar refugee camp, has come a long way with stints in England, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Samiullah Shenwari is also among those like Nabi, who holds the key to Afghanistan’s middle order. They have a formidable batting in the form of former captain Nawroz Mangal and Asghar Stanikzai. Their bowling with the likes of Shapoor Zadran and Dawlat Zadran is breaking bats quite literally; with each breaking bats of Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) and Majid Haq (Scotland) respectively. Hamid Hassan with his brisk pace isn’t bad either. What they now need to do is, go out and express themselves with their cricketing weapons. By beating Scotland and achieving their first win in the World Cup, they have justified their existence. It’s time for us to witness a cricketing romance, one that is about to take the world by storm. They would also want to give the test playing nations, a run for their money. They would like to prove to the ICC that the Associates belong to this level and that the idea of a 10 team World Cup is not a good one.

With every Afghan shouting out “Mighty, Mighty Afghans” at all venues they play and everybody back home glued to their TV sets to watch their fellow countrymen play, the onus is completely on those 15 men down under. All we want cricket to do is, to give Afghanistan some respite from their political and social instability. If cricket can bring peace to those back home, why not! If it can give smiles to those back home, why not!