A few years back, people hardly knew that even Afghanistan
have their cricket team. It was only in 2003 when they started to play
professional cricket and very soon they earned the Associate Nations Contract.
In 2009, they played their first international match and since then they have
never looked back.
In 2015 they made into the ODI world cup main stage and
impressed everyone, but this side shot to fame this year when they defeated Zimbabwe
in the world T20 qualifiers and hence entered the super 10 stages competing with
strong cricketing nations. However, they could manage only one win but it was against
the champions West Indies. They never failed to impress the spectators and gave
tough competition to every team. Players like Mohammad Shahzad, Mohammad Nabi
and the young leggie Rashid Khan showed that this team is not less than any
other team.
They played each game with loads of effort and a positive
approach which was reflecting in their play. The match against South Africa
where they had to chase a huge target of 210 runs, they fought really brave and
in the end lost by only 37 runs. Their opener Shahzad who smashed 44 of just 19
balls said after the match that he wanted to play against Dale Steyn who was
dropped for the game. He also said that Steyn is not a dangerous bowler. This
reflects the confidence these players have inside.
After such a good campaign, fans were expecting Afghan
Cricketers to play in the IPL but it didn’t happen. The sad part is that in the
9 seasons of the IPL, Ryan ten Doeschate of Netherlands is the only associate
player to have been part of this tournament. Some exceptional players are playing for the associate nations but their talent generally gets unnoticed due
to lack of opportunities they seek. IPL is a stage that has given countries
some really talented players like Ajinkya Rahane for India and if Afghans get
an opportunity to play in this tournament, it will benefit both, the Players
and the sport.
Comments
Post a Comment