The Achievements
Lets do the achievements
LIFO style:(Last In First Out)
- Providing all the nail biting matches in this Asia cup where they gave tough fight to every team.(Kudos to Phil Simmons the present coach of Afghanistan)
They entered as underdogs but after only two performances they were kind of favorites for the finals.
- Getting the status of a test playing nation.
- Performing brilliantly in IPL and auctions were filled with the bidders for Afghan’s players.(Rashid,Mujeeb,Nabi and Zahir )
- Reaching the semis of U19 WC earlier this year beating a well-established NZ team.
Do Consider this as the most important one as you are strong in the future as your present U19 team.
(Do remember the already stars of cricket,Rashid is 20 years old and Mujeeb is 17 years old)
- Only team to beat the champions WI in the 2016 t20 WC in a low scoring match.(Kudos to Inzi for nurturing this talent)
A team which was relentless in High-scoring games were defeated in a low-scoring encounter .
- Beating Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe.
- Beating Bangladesh in Asia cup,2014.
- Entering the WC in 2010.
But there is more to it that meets the eye.
As you don’t win the battle on the day you win the cup,you win it when you are practicing your heart out while others are sleeping comfortably.
The Hardships
Amongst this blossoming youth, we can’t deny the core of Afghan cricket
Stanikzai,Shahzad,Nabi and Zadran(Daulat and Shapoor).
These are the ones that made Cricket a popular game in a war-struck Afghanistan.
Shapoor Zadran once quoted in an interview,
“I was 19 when we started playing. We were very tense when we first started playing cricket seriously because the situation in Afghanistan wasn't good. We could only play in Kabul because it was the only secure place. It was a very small ground. We feared we will be beaten up because we fought poverty. “
- Despite being banned by the Taliban and condemned by religious extremists — terrorists bombed a community game of cricket in Jalalabad in May, killing eight and injuring dozens .
- On May 19, while Mr. Khan was playing in the Indian Premier League, back in his home city of Jalalabad, in the eastern province of Nangarhar, a midnight cricket game was underway.
- Begun so late to allow players to fast during Ramadan, the match dragged Afghans back to brutal reality.
- Terrorists set off three bombs in quick succession, killing atleast 8 and injuring close to 50 people.
- One of Khan’s Afghanistan teammates, Karim Sadiq, carried the wounded to makeshift ambulances.
- And yet, in 2017, Shapoor Zadran, the tall left-arm fast bowler who hit the winning runs in their first-ever World Cup victory, was attacked by terrorists, and not for the first time.
- Four years previously, Mr. Nabi’s father had been kidnapped.
But even after these hardships ,these people have created a new Afghanistan which is known by the world as an icon of “
FIGHTING SPIRIT”.
Should we take them seriously in the WC,2019?
The Bowling
First please look at these names who were picked up in IPL(one of the most prestigious t20 league in the world)
Rashid Khan
When he performs he announces himself,mentioning his name is just formality.
Mohammad Nabi
Batting or Bowling he can turn the tables around.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman
You might have seen him with a new ball for Punjab or Afghanistan.
His consistency is his power.
Zahir Khan
The lesser known of the lot but by no means less talented.
He has taken 15 wickets in 8 T20 matches at a splendid bowling average of 13.53.
_________________________________________________________________________________
The Batting
The most worried part for their ODI team was batting but in Asia cup they proved how they can handle any format .
Their batting stood out and showed the temperament and skills required to bat 50 overs .
Asghar Afghan
He showed his hitting side in the middle overs in Asia cup.
Mohammad Shahzad
Needs no introduction,we know what he is capable off.
Rahmat Shah
He can play big innings at a wonderful strike rate.
Hashmatullah Shahidi
He is the playmaker around which the entire team revolves
The worries
All said if they need to make an impact in WC,2019 in England they need pacers who can hit the deck hard.
As of now they have only Aftab Alam.(Gone are the golden days of Shapoor and Daulat Zadran)
Conclusion
According to me,there were two winners in this Asia cup,
The ones who won the trophy
and others who won our hearts.
(the day is not far when they will be holding the trophy too)
Image sources:Google images and news.
Comments
Post a Comment