From learning the sport at the refugee camps in Pakistan, Afghanistan has taken a giant leap, making it to their first ever semifinal in an ICC tournament
Naveen-ul-Haq of Afghanistan celebrates after dismissing Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh (not pictured) to win and to advance to the Semi Finals the ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies & USA 2024 Super Eight match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh at Arnos Vale Ground on June 24, 2024 in St Vincent, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines. Image: Darrian Traynor-ICC/ICC via Getty Images
Emotions took over as soon as Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman to clinch the semifinal spot for Afghanistan in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Several Afghanistan players broke into tears, perhaps recalling years of struggle.
When people talk of Afghanistan, a country that has been marred with decades of conflict and war, cricket is probably the last thing on their mind. But the way the Afghanistan cricket team has carried itself despite all the challenges shows how sport can mend the spirit of a nation.
In 2000, the Taliban made an exception and approved cricket, and, in 2001, the International Cricket Council (ICC) gave recognition to Afghanistan cricket. That is where their long journey began. The team started by playing domestic cricket in Pakistan and gradually ventured into Asian regional cricket.
With their limited resources and conflict-ridden history, they didn’t make it big straightaway. But players like Mohammad Nabi—still a part of the team—gave hope to the other budding players that cricket could be the way forward. After early failures, they improved somewhere between 2006-2007 and won a couple of domestic tournaments.