A young Afghan team with an average age of just 25 promised to give the home crowd a rare cause for T20 World Cup jubilation after a breakthrough performance in the 50s final. The skies over Kabul were swept by fireworks as Afghanistan celebrated their stunning eight-wicket win against Pakistan in the ODI World Cup in October. They finished sixth, ahead of defending champions England – who they also defeated – raising hopes for the T20 tournament in the United States and West Indies, which begins on Saturday.
“In the past, when we beat a bigger team, our victory was considered an ‘upset’,” 22-year-old Sediqullah Atal told AFP by phone from his training camp in the West Indies.
“The word ‘upset’ is no longer in the dictionary and we are ranked among the favourites,” said the left-handed batsman, insisting that his team is “no less than anyone else”.
Afghanistan has been through decades of war, but the country’s passion for cricket has never faded.
“When you have the support of 40 million people and they motivate you, it’s a feeling of absolute joy,” said 20-year-old all-rounder Nangeyalia Kharote.
The joy of supporters
It is “a great joy” to represent his country, although now he must “live up to the high expectations” of his supporters, he told AFP in Kabul, before his departure for the Caribbean.
“The love of Afghans, both at home and abroad, is remarkable,” added Sediqullah Atal.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), which manages the men’s team, has the full support of the country’s Taliban government, which forced the United States and its allies out of the country before taking power in 2021.
The Taliban rulers, not yet recognized by any country, have effectively banned women from playing sport, albeit under their austere interpretation of Islam.
Afghanistan’s participation in the World Cup therefore generates some controversy, circumventing International Cricket Council rules which stipulate that all Test-playing nations must have a women’s side.
The ICC had previously said the matter was “pending”, allowing Afghanistan to compete – although England and Australia have refused to play them out of the World Cup.
‘They are our heroes’
Despite decades of war and poverty, Afghan cricket has gone from strength to strength, with new academies, sponsorship deals and tournament funding.
The first match in the 2024 World Cup will be on June 4, against Uganda, in Guyana.
“Our team has arrived and is playing at a very high level in a short space of time,” cricket enthusiast Afzal Khan, who trains at the Rashid Khan Cricket Academy in Kabul, told AFP.
“They are our heroes, they will have a place in my heart forever,” said the 19-year-old, who hopes to take the place of Afghan captain and playmaker Rashid Khan.
“They have faced a lot of difficulties to take the team and our cricket to this level.”
In an interview published by ACB last week, Khan promised: “We will also shine well in this World Cup and live up to the expectations of our compatriots.”
Back in Kabul, another young cricketer in training made these expectations clear. Naseem Khan told AFP that “this will be the best World Cup for Afghanistan”.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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