Explainer: How did the craze for cricket grow so much in Afghanistan, how do players come out from there

Craze for cricket in Afghanistan: The ICC T20 World Cup being played in the co-hosting of West Indies and America has proved to be historic for Afghanistan. Afghanistan has shown its strength to the cricket world by making it to the semi-finals for the first time. The Afghan team first defeated a great team like Australia in the Super-8 round and then defeated Bangladesh to make it to the final four teams with pride. Both these teams are much higher than it in the rankings. Afghanistan’s success is important from the point of view that the Taliban took over the power of this country three years ago. Since then the country’s economy has collapsed badly. The situation there has gone from bad to worse for the common citizens. In such a situation, the whole country is overjoyed at the success of the team.

Taliban first imposed the ban, then removed it
There was a time when the Taliban had banned all sports in Afghanistan. Anyone seen playing was shot dead. But in the year 2000, the Taliban lifted the ban on cricket. The Taliban found this game quite entertaining. Since then, whenever the Afghanistan cricket team played a big match or tournament, the Taliban were at the forefront in wishing them well. The craze for cricket became such that cricket matches were watched the most in the areas controlled by the Taliban. Those who could not watch the match on TV used to listen to the commentary on the radio. The interesting thing is that most of the players playing in the national team come from these areas.

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Learned cricket in refugee camps in Pakistan
There are many cricketers in the Afghanistan team who lived in refugee camps in Pakistan with their parents and family during the civil war in the country. They were very young then. When they saw Pakistanis playing cricket, their interest in the game grew. Later they themselves started playing cricket. When the British forces arrived to conquer this country in the 19th century, Afghans were also addicted to cricket, but it slowly ended. They got the real addiction of this game in the refugee camps of Pakistan.

Talibanis also started enjoying cricket
A man named Taj Malook Khan formed an Afghan Cricket Club outside the Kacha Gari refugee camp in Peshawar in the 80s. A decade later, when Afghan citizens started returning to their country, they brought cricket with them. Initially, the Taliban had banned all sports. They believed that sports distract a person from prayer. Later, the Taliban’s attitude towards cricket softened. Then came the time when Taliban fighters put aside their AK-47 guns for cricket. When Afghanistan qualified for the World Cup 2019, they shook the entire country with bullets. This was the Taliban’s own way of expressing happiness over victory in cricket.

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Cricket’s influence in rural areas
According to a report, cricket is the only game that is enjoyed by Taliban commanders as well. In the areas under their control, a huge crowd gathers to watch cricket matches. The amazing thing is that there is no fighting or quarreling during this. All of them are fans of their country’s team and encourage it wholeheartedly.

Cricket academies started opening
Ever since the craze for cricket has increased in Afghanistan, cricket academies have started opening everywhere. Children are seen playing cricket in villages and cities. However, due to the current situation in Afghanistan, foreign teams do not go to play there. In such a situation, the Afghanistan team made Greater Noida in India its base. After that, its home ground was shifted to Dehradun and finally to Dubai. The reason behind Afghanistan’s success is the Indian Cricket Control Board providing grounds and training infrastructure in Greater Noida and Dehradun for the neighboring country. They play matches at a neutral venue with the foreign teams that do not want to come to Afghanistan. It has also played some matches with foreign teams in India.

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Victory was celebrated in India too
Afghan refugees and students living in India miss their country the most on two occasions – when their mother makes biryani on Eid and when their favorite bowler Rashid Khan pulls out the stumps. A large number of Afghan students study at Sharda University in Greater Noida. Obviously, they are thrilled about the success of the Afghan team. Now they are excited about the semi-final match. After the victory over big teams in the Super-8, there was a festive atmosphere at the homes of many Afghan refugees in Bhogal and Lajpat Nagar in Delhi. Even those who are not interested in cricket are ready to watch the semi-final match and shout slogans for their country.

tag: afghanistan cricket, afghanistan taliban news, Cricket World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup, Taliban Afghanistan