Riding on a wave of sheer talent and determination, the cricket warriors of Afghanistan have shocked the world’s cricket pundits into complete silence. No one had predicted that Afghanistan would enter the semi-finals or that its bowlers and batters would be the leading individual performers at this stage of the ICC T20 cricket World Cup.
The only big name who had great faith in Afghanistan’s ability was Brian Lara. The legendary West Indies player had predicted that Afghanistan would be among the last four teams in the competition and he has now been proved right. So are we seeing the birth of a new super power in cricket?
Historic journey
Battling the lack of adequate infrastructure, disinterest of big sponsors and miniscule financial resources, the Afghan cricketers have come up the hard way to make the country proud of them. Their journey has been historic and inspiring.
The Afghan cricketers have displayed the required skills and now they seem to have also got the confidence to succeed against the big teams. When Rahmanullah Gurbaz (60) and Ibrahim Zadram steered their side to 148 for six it looked like Australia would easily reach the target. But then the Afghan bowlers hit their stride and despite a fighting 59 by Glenn Maxwell, Afghanistan romped home to a 21-run win. Gulbadin Naib and Naveen ul Haq wrecked Australia’s hopes.
Fazalhaq Farooqui plays for SRH
Astonishingly, at this stage of the tournament, the best individual performers are from Afghanistan. Fazalhaq Farooqui with 16 wickets from 7 matches tops the bowlers list. In the IPL this 23-year-old represents Sunrisers Hyderabad. His countryman Rahmanullah Gurbaz with 281 runs from seven matches heads the list of batters. Australia’s big hitter Travis Head is in second place with 255 runs while Ibrahim Zadran, another batter from Afghanistan, is in third place with 229 runs. Truly the minnows have put up a giant-killing performance.
India’s behind-the-scenes support
But behind the meteoric rise of Afghanistan, there is a wonderful supporting role that India has played. India has provided them with temporary home grounds. The Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik sports complex in Greater Noida and grounds in Dehradun and Lucknow have served as home grounds for Afghanistan’s matches.
India has supported Afghanistan’s cricketers by providing them with the infrastructure that they lacked at home. Moreover, Indian coaches guided the players.
Rajput and Jadeja mentored them
Former Indian cricketers like Lalchand Rajput and Ajay Jadeja helped the players to improve their game and develop self belief which is very necessary if one has to succeed against famed opponents. It is learned that Jadeja’s role as mentor was extremely helpful to the Afghan players. South African Jonathan Trott who is the head coach of Afghanistan provided the finishing touches after Indians did the groundwork.
IPL participation helped
Another factor that helped improve Afghanistan’s cricket standard was its participation in the IPL. Several Afghan players represent different IPL teams and play regularly against Australian, English, and South African players. If they perform well, they catch the eye of foreign clubs and also get contracts to play in other countries.
Fazalhaq Farooqui plays for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League in Australia, Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, and MI Emirates in UAE. In his short life span, he has gained immense confidence and cricketing skills.
Right now Afghanistan has many talented young players on the side. Most of them are in their 20s and very few are above 30. They have talent and determination. They also have a fantastic leader in captain Rashid Khan. So look out for these boys. They are the future superstars of world cricket.
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