The ICC World T20 has triggered a cricket frenzy in Afghanistan, reveal three of their heroes who are in the city for a coaching clinic
The ICC World T20 has triggered a cricket frenzy in Afghanistan, reveal three of their heroes who are in the city for a coaching clinicu00a0u00a0
As the 1983 World Cup acted as the catalyst for Indian cricket, the ICC World Twenty20 has had a similar impact in Afghanistan.
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| Afghanistan cricketers Samiullah Shenwari (left), Mohammad Asghar (centre) and Noor Ali soak in the atmosphere at The Promenade around Gateway of India. PIC/SANTOSH NAGVEKAR |
The Afghans have not won the tournament, but just the sight of their players playing fearlessly against World's top teams India and South Africa has triggered a cricket frenzy in their war-ravaged country.
The boys who did well have become instant stars and three of the men who made a mark in the event are in Mumbai for a week-long camp organised and sponsored by the Global Cricket Academy under the Raj Singh Dungarpur scholarship.
Noor Ali, the opener who scored a fifty against India; Mohammad Asghar, who hit three sixes in his cameo of 31 against India, and leg-spinner and batsman Samiullah Shenwari, who claimed Suresh Raina's wicket.
Accompanying them is the Afghanistan team manager Basheer Khan.
"The ICC World T20 has sparked a huge interest in the game in our country. Things have changed dramatically in the last month. It is the first time any Afghanistan team played in a World Cup and the first time a cricket tournament was telecast live by a local channel and people saw us play live," Basheer told MiD DAY.
"They saw them for the first time and people know all the players now," he added.
In his hometown, Khost (South Afghanistan, about 250 kms from Kabul), Noor has become the biggest celebrity.
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"I could not pray last Friday as all the people were coming up to me and asking for photographs, trying to shake hands. I was well known in Khost earlier too, but people seem to like me more after the World T20," said Noor.
"I can't just believe that our local province tournament, 50- over matches, which started three days ago are being shown live all over Afghanistan (on TV channel Shamshad). It is the first time-ever that it has happened," revealed Basheer.
The last few weeks have been nothing but a dream sequence for the Afghan cricketers. Apart from getting a taste of top-flight cricket at the T20 event, the team was in for their biggest surprise when they landed at the Kabul airport.
"We were expecting people would be angry at us for losing both the games. But we were in for a big surprise.
The scene at the airport was unbelievable. A lot of people had come to receive us... members of parliament, ministers; a huge media contingent and people waving flags lined up on the streets. The cheers continued till we reached our hotel where we had a press conference. It was as if we had won the World Cup.
"There were elders from the villages, calling us and telling us we did well against the best team in the world."
It sounds like the tournament has stoked interest even among the Taliban. "The Taliban don't say anything to us, they neither support, nor they stop us. But, we get to hear from other people that they are happy when we do well," said Basheer.
When the Taliban is not objecting to something in Afghanistan, that means that it is really popular.
