MOMENTS AFTER Afghanistan’s historic 21-run win over Australia in the Super 8 game of the T20 World Cup at Kingstown, a video cropped up on the team’s social media account that conveyed what the conquest meant for the nation that has historically seen many invasions.
The clip had captain Rashid Khan, 25, and Man of the Match Gulbadin Naib, 33, passionately belting out a Pashto verse. There were no subtitles. Maybe, there was no need as this was the team’s two old hands talking directly to the fans back home.
Kandahar-born Delhi University PhD student and cricket fan Nazamudin Asar, after sharing his excitement over his team’s chances of making it to the semifinal from a group that has India and Australia, translated the verse. “’Roll up your sleeves, come celebrate and dance. Poor people like us rarely get the chance to enjoy as happiness belongs to those who are strong and rich…’ That’s what they were singing, that’s exactly what Afghanistan feels today,” Asar said, before adding a typical self-deprecating Afghan touch. “Everyone is on the streets. Last time this happened was when there was an earthquake.”
In the Afghan city of Khost, there is a man who could have been at the Arnos Vale stadium, but missed out. The team’s assistant coach Raees Ahmadzai couldn’t travel with the team because of a knee surgery. He says he has lost his voice, he was with thousands others on the streets chanting “Afghanistan Zindabad”.
“A couple of days ago we celebrated Eid, and it feels like we are celebrating it again after this win. It is something very special for many reasons,” Ahmadzai tells The Indian Express. “Beating Australia is very special for this nation. They refused to play the series against us. They were very lucky that they got away in the ODI World Cup. We were waiting for this result.”
The two nations have a history. Australia refused to play a bilateral series against Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover of 2021. They were taking a stand against the regime not allowing women to play sports. The tense Afghanistan vs Australia 50-over World Cup game in India last year added fuel to the fire.
Ahmadzai recalls the evening in Mumbai when Australia were on the brink of defeat but recovered miraculously. Glenn Maxwell broke Afghan hearts with his unbeaten 201. He chased down 292 from 91/7. At this T20 World Cup too, Maxwell seemed ready for a repeat. He scored 59 from 41 balls and the target of 149 seemed well within his striking range. That was not to be, he would become one of Gulbadin’s four scalps. The part-time batting all-rounder with a bodybuilder physique would out-muscle and out-fox the Aussie with his strength and smartness.
After the game, skipper Rashid was subtle in mentioning Australia’s boycott and related political complexities. “Cricket is the only reason Afghanistan celebrates. And if we keep that source away from us as well, I don’t know what will remain … I don’t know what’s the solution … I don’t know much about politics and I don’t even like it. If we play (Australia) in a World Cup, why don’t we play in a bilateral series?”
Back in Kosht, Ahmadzai shares the emotional chat he had with his players and the inspirational head coach and former England international Jonathan Trott after the memorable win. “They all were glad that the boys didn’t panic when he started hitting boundaries. We were calm, we never panic,” he says.
Ahmadzai jokes about Gulbadin’s special celebration of flexing his muscles after getting wickets. “I have told him so many times to stop flexing his muscles. You are not bowling 150 kph, you are a 120 kph bowler. He will always say ‘sir, I will do something special for my team soon but please don’t stop me from showing off my muscles’. Today indeed he has earned the right,” says Ahmadzai.
Gulbadin also plays for IPL team Delhi Capitals where he is coached by former India player Praveen Amre. Like most Afghans, Gulbadin too has an unending urge to learn and make the most of the training they get in IPL. “He joined in the fag end of the IPL and during that time you generally don’t have many practice sessions but whatever we had, he never missed one. There was a hunger to improve. What I liked the most about him is his self-belief,” Amre says.
The first cricket ground of Afghanistan in Kabul. (Special Arrangement)
Naveen-ul-Haq (3/20) was another star of the match for Afghanistan. Besides his smart variations in bowling, he is famous in India for his run-ins with Virat Kohli during the IPL. “I call him Mr Cleaver. He is a very proud Afghan, a tough guy. He is feisty in the field and never ever backs away from a fight,” says Ahmadzai. Naveen didn’t, he was the one who set the tone for Afghanistan by cleaning up the dangerous Travis Head with the third ball of the match.
Ahead of the tournament, West Indies great Brian Lara and former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif were among the few cricketers, who picked Afghanistan as one of the semi-finalists. Latif was appointed as the first head coach of the Afghanistan team in 2010. He shares an anecdote about his first visit to a cricket field there.
“It was the first day and when I reached the ground, there was an American chopper, a Sikorsky and an aeroplane lying next to the cricket ground, where Afghanistan cricketers used to train. Later in the evening, it would become our dressing room,” says Latif.
Afghanistan cricket has come a long way from the days of that plane-wreck locker room. But there is something that they retained from the days of war and strife. Ahmadzai says it is the Afghan DNA to not give up, which is instilled in the Rashid Khan-led team. “We are warrior clans, we always want to win. I have seen players coming for training after burying their loved ones. We never had it easy. Earlier our country was known for war, now they talk about our cricket, Rashid Khan, Gurbaz, Gulbadin, Naveen, Nabi,” he says.
