Hyderabad: "This is a sport which brings Afghans together," a concerned Lalchand Rajput, who coached Afghanistan from 2016 to 2017, said when asked about the future of cricket in a Taliban-controlled region.
At the same time, Rajput hopes for "cricket to continue as it brings a lot of happiness to the entire nation".
From practicing at the refugee camps in Pakistan to donning white Test cricket shirts in 2017, the team has taken inspirational strides in the last decade with players like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman becoming global superstars and household names in their country.
"The people of Afghanistan are passionate about cricket. This brings a lot of happiness to them. It's a sport that has brought the country in the world map as they have world class bowlers in Rashid khan, Nabi and Mujeeb. It brings the whole country a lot of happiness," Rajput told Etv Bharat over the telephone.
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Cricket is fairly new to Afghanistan. To start off, they were introduced to the sport back in the early 19th century by the British but it couldn't gain much ground like it did in its neighbouring nations -- India and Pakistan. The game got the push when Afghans, fleeing from the war against Soviets in the 1980s, held the bat and ball for the first time at Pakistan refugee camps. Rashid, one of the best in T20 cricket, and Nabi grew up in these camps.
But what gives hope to the cricketing fraternity is that the game came into being in Afghanistan under Taliban's rule. The Afghanistan Cricket Federation, now known as the Afghanistan Cricket Board, was established under their regime in 1995. But it wasn't until 2001 that the national team was established with its cricket board acquiring membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
It is a predicament that sometimes even local Afghans and the promoters of the game find themselves in as Taliban had banned other sports like Football and Athletics, which according to them were un-Islamic. Cricket somehow survived as it was seen as a gentleman's game. It also helped that many Talibanis had got the feel of the sport during their time spent at Pakistani camps.
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The country has been firefighting a range of issues following Taliban's takeover and subsequent Kabul's fall after the US pullout from the warn-torn region, in what has been described as a shocking decision by the American establishment. The videos and photos capturing Afghan unrest have so far only been able to gain sympathy and "shock" from the world as turmoil unfolds in the region.
Rajput is concerned and aware of the situation, keeping track of the developments under the new regime, while hoping the country's "love" for the game will prevail.
"The whole world is concerned about the situation in Afghanistan," he said recalling his tenure with team that were not ready to throw in the towel despite adversities faced.
"The one thing I loved about the team was they were passionate about cricket, never shied away from working hard and above all they were prepared to put that extra effort whenever I asked for. For example, if I told them that today you have to run for 20 minutes, they will respond why not 40? This shows much they were keen on putting that extra effort and hardwork," the former Indian cricketer remembered.
Under his wings, the Afghanistan cricket team took giant leaps winning multiple ODI games and also gaining Test status.
"Afghanistan never had a ground of their own and the facilities needed for an international team, but the BCCI had provided them a ground in Noida where they worked really hard. It's amazing to see how some players have become a household name in international cricket despite the lack of proper infrastructure," he said.
Afghanistan are currently placed 7th in the T20 rankings -- above Sri Lanka, West Indies and Bangladesh, a feat that reflects resilience of the players who stay away from home for most part of the year. They are placed 10th in the One Day Internationals rankings.
And Rajput being a former coach and seen them up close has only one wish for the team.
"I hope cricket continues to grow in Afghanistan," he signed off.
-- By Ayushmaan Pandey
