The story of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 has obviously been that of Afghanistan making it to the semi-final.
When fancied teams like Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and the West Indies fell by the wayside, Afghan spirit stood out and ensured that they created history by making the semi-final for the first time ever.
There is something about playing World Cups in the West Indies and Afghanistan, that, it becomes a historic moment. Back in 2010 when a T20 World Cup was staged for the first time in the West Indies, Afghanistan made their debut. They qualified to play a World Cup encounter for the first time ever in that tournament.
They squared off against India and South Africa back in 2010, but did not progress any further. However, stories of their sacrifices and life in refugee camps in Pakistan made headlines. A documentary released in 2010, called ‘Out of the Ashes,’ also chronicled the journey of post-Taliban regime cricket in Afghanistan.
ICC’s Contribution in Afghanistan’s Growth Should Not Be Forgotten
What must not be forgotten is the contribution of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in helping Afghanistan’s growth from being a side that was in Division Five back in 2009 to now when they are on the cusp of history.
During the early years when a patchwork side would play as Afghanistan, it was a struggle.
They had to struggle to make ends meet. But somehow, slowly but surely, they managed to claw their way up the ladder. The role played by the ICC Development Department in ensuring that they were part of the first-class competition for Associates called the ICC Intercontinental Cup really helped Afghanistan’s cause.
For about 10 years, Afghanistan toiled in the first-class competition and their cricketers honed their long-form skills. This was apart from the World Cricket League (WCL) one-day competitions which ran concurrently. The disappointment at not making the 2011 ODI World Cup was offset by the growth the side witnessed in the two other ICC competitions. Along the way, they moved from Affiliate membership to an Associate status in the ICC. They gained ODI status too, and started making initial waves.
The Role That India Played
In those early years, Afghanistan’s big rivalries would be with Ireland and Nepal. They used to be needle clashes with most matches being in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The clash with Nepal especially used to be fiery, but now Afghanistan have left their one-time rival way behind in the pecking order. Nepal, however, could be the next big growth story of cricket very soon!
The UAE used to be the home for Afghanistan back in 2011 and continued to be the base till India opened its home for them in 2016. Noida, Greater Noida and Dehradun emerged as bases for Afghanistan with several bilateral series being staged in those venues. It drew a good crowd as well, as the expatriate Afghan population turned up in numbers.
The Indian help for Afghan cricket was more strategic than anything else. In a post-Taliban Afghanistan, India was keen to play a part in developing friendly relations which also resulted in a few development projects being initiated.
The Newer Lot Is Ready
The recruitment of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi as the first Afghan players in the IPL auction by Sunrisers Hyderabad was another big step which led to a wave of excitement. Both Rashid and Nabi are global superstars in T20 cricket and have plied their trade all over the globe. They have been the flag bearers of Afghanistan cricket and are a big draw in whichever league they participate in.
Rashid and Nabi have outdone the initial set of players like Nawroz Mangal, who led the early wave of Afghan cricket. Now the newer lot, led by the likes of Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmed and Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, amongst a whole host of others, is also in demand all over the globe.
More Needs To Be Done To Help Afghanistan Grow
Now, Afghanistan are a certified T20 powerhouse and in helpful conditions, have also been making waves in ODI cricket too, like in the previous World Cup. But the international engagements for the Afghanistan national team are far and few in between. They are a Test team in name only, with hardly any games being played. Afghanistan has played just nine Tests since gaining status back in 2018. India has played Afghanistan just once, and that too, in their inaugural Test back in 2018.
More needs to be done to help Afghanistan grow as a Test team and to ensure that they don’t remain one only on paper. Even in their white-ball engagements, there is not much progress and most of their players are always occupied in franchise T20 leagues around the globe.
India have once again offered their grounds for Afghanistan to stage their international series, considering the security situation back home. But more needs to be done by India at the BCCI level.
One option could well be allowing an Afghanistan XI to play in the Duleep Trophy. There needs to be more series involving the A sides of India and Afghanistan. As the leader of the sport in Asia, India can and should play a bigger role in ensuring that Afghanistan does not slip because of the pool of talent available.
If Afghanistan does go past South Africa, the profile for cricket will only further grow in that country. It will create more opportunities for Afghan players in leagues around the world and they will probably have more avenues being opened for them everywhere.
But the moral dimension of Afghanistan cricket should never be forgotten.
Moral Responsibility of Cricket World – Afghanistan Should Not Go down the Route of Kenya
Australia has been under fire for cancelling bilateral white ball series against Afghanistan over the lack of female participation in the sport. This is, however, a question that the Afghan male cricketers cannot answer, but a query for the administrators to respond. One cynical way of looking at this question is that when offering Test status to Afghanistan, the ICC Board of Directors comprising representatives from all full members, including Australia, looked the other way. Now, suddenly since it is fashionable it has become convenient to raise this topic!
The Afghanistan side can do one thing though, and that is ensure that they continue in the ongoing Men’s T20 World Cup till 29 June. If they do that, then automatically it will ensure that all member boards of ICC will be ‘forced’ to invite them for a series whether in red or white ball.
It will then become a moral responsibility of the cricket world to ensure that Afghanistan does not slip the way Kenya did after making the semi-final of the 2003 ODI World Cup. If history does repeat itself, then it will be another story to look out for!
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