Afghanistan will be remembered forever in the history of cricket. The reason behind it is their hard work, determination, and belief to fight against terrorism with bat and bowl instead of weapons. Afghan youngsters are looking towards cricket as a hope of better life.
- How they started their Journey?
The Afghanistan cricket board was formed in 1995 and joined ICC in 2001 as an associate member. For next 7 to 8 years they played local tournaments in Pakistan & England and some divisional cricket. After some good cricket Afghanistan got a one-day status in 2009. They played their first one-day international against Scotland. They continued their good form and played their first T20 international in 2010 against Ireland. They got very good success in the shorter form of the game. As a result, ICC rewarded them with test status in 2018.
- Where they are now?
Today Afghanistan has a winning percentage of 66.6% & 52.08% in T20 & one-day international respectively, and also earned a test status recently. They will play their first historic test against India on 14 June 2018. They also qualified for the world cup 2019 after winning the ICC qualifiers. Recently they won a T20 series against Bangladesh by a tremendous margin of 3-0.
BCCI played a very vital role behind afghan's success. A few days back, BCCI announced that any team touring India will have to play a practice match against the Afghan side. This step by BCCI will surely help them to make their mark at the international arena. Greater Noida in India is their home ground away from Home.
- Future of Afghan cricket:-
Under the guidance of former Caribbean all-rounder, Phil Simmons and leadership of Asghar Stanikzai, Afghanistan present, and nearby future are looking good and secure too. Md. Nabi, S. Shenwari, Md. Shahzad, Shapoor Zadran are some of the well-experienced players in the Afghan dressing room.
A lot of talented young cricketers are also coming from Afghanistan. Today who don't knows about Rashid Khan and Mujeeb. They are among the best spinners present in the current international arena. Bowl after leaving their hands behaves like an "Afghan Jalebi".
Combination of experience and young guys are really working for them, and after declaring Rashid Khan as a vice-captain of this side it is pretty sure that Afghanistan cricket is going to continue this formula in near future.
After getting that much success in cricket in just last 25 years, is truly commendable and inspirational. But still, they have to prove a lot on the cricket pitch, especially in the longer format of the game.
After getting that much success in cricket in just last 25 years, is truly commendable and inspirational. But still, they have to prove a lot on the cricket pitch, especially in the longer format of the game.
Look here what happened on Afghanistan's first test outing:-
Afghanistan & India historic test
Now the only thing is to look whether they will continue their success of shorter format in longer one? Hope they will, as it will also help Asia to become a cricketing giant.