by Jasveer (fan view)
Afghanistan is the new rising team in cricket, at the international level. With hard work and will to excell at the highest level, they have earned a name for themselves in the ranks of associate teams, leaving behind the teams like Scotland, Honk Kong and UAE.They are the 5th nation participating in the upcoming Asia Cup.They are performing well day by day in every format of cricket,whether it is their U19 team,U15 or senior team.
Afghan’s senior team has already made their maiden call to 50 Overs ICC Cricket WorldCup 2015 jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 2015.They are playing their 3rd consecutive T20 world cup in Bangaladesh. Previously, they have played in West Indies and SriLanka in 2010 and 2012 respectively. Although, they haven’t won against any major team, but they are showing signs of improvement.
AFGHANISTAN HAS FOUND FUTURE STARS WHO CAN TAKE CRICKET FORWARD IN THE COUNTRY
Afghanistan’s U19 team is full of talented players like Mohammad Mujtaba,Hashmatullah Shaidi, captain Nasir Jamal,Muslim Musa and Sharafuddin Ashraf .It is possible that very soon these player may represent thier senior team at the International level. Afganistan U19 has been the biggest surprise of this year’s under 19 ICC cricket World Cup in UAE. Afganistan started thier journey against Bangaladesh but they lost that game by 10 wickets. That was not a good start for them, but in the next match they bounced back and defeated Australia by 36 runs and this victory boosted their campaign. .In thier last Group game against Namibia, they had to win by a better run rate for playing in Quarter-final and they did it again by chasing 192 runs in just 26 overs. By Beating Australia and Namibia their confidence is sky high and it is possible that they can give a few more surprises .Before the start of this tournament they were behaved like a minnows but their fantastic cricket is proving that they are not minnows and prepared to play against any country at any stage.
AFGHANISTAN SHOULD NOT MEET THE SAME FATE LIKE KENYA AND ZIMBABWE
The political conditions and environment in Afghanistan, are not suitable for the growth cricket, and the players have to struggle for playing cricket. We don’t want to see Afghanistan meeting the same fate like Kenya and Zimbabwe, at the hands of ICC .It is the ICC’s responsibility to make future tour program that includes more cricket for Afghanistan and specially against Test playing nations. It won’t be an big-money deal, but, it’s very important for the growth and promotion of the game.Some funds must be given to them to improve the facilities and infrastructure for cricket in Afghanistan.The main thing is that they should get chance to play more cricket because that’s how they will learn the skills required to excel at the highest level. Also, they need some world class coaches and officials, which is not possible without funds, and for generating funds they need to play more cricket. With the way they are moving , we can see them joining the ranks of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe soon, which will be good for the game.
Asia Cup will be a big test for Afghanistan cricket team, and good performances against the Asian giants, will do a world of good to their confidence, and this will help them prepare for all the important cricket world because they don’t have much cricket against the big teams, after the Asia Cup.
