The story of cricket in Afghanistan is a fascinating account of the power of modern sport to give new meaning to life. From playing with sticks and plastic bags that passed off as bats and cricket balls on the streets of Kabul, to taking on and beating England last night, Afghanistan’s blow-hot-blow-cold story has been phenomenal. And it can’t simply be attributed to talent. A deep-seated desire to combat the challenges life has presented them with, including death at every corner and a kind of resilience that has little parallel, has seen them rise to the top ten in world cricket. Set against the backdrop of an earthquake-ravaged Herat—where cricket flourishes amidst all odds—the victory isn’t simply a win in a cricket match. It is, we can rightly say, ‘more than just about sport’.
The triumph last night is the story of wanting something very badly—Rashid Khan, the talisman, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, player of the match, were both determined to make sure that people back home had something to cheer about. While their methods were different, their dream was the same. And they fulfilled it. It is only natural then that this is a story that goes beyond the cricket field—no sport can escape this. Despite the earthquake and all that is happening in Herat, both of them never lost sight of their goal, and the men who joined them along the way – Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohammed Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, to name just three – continued to be part of the dream till the very end. It took a collective effort to topple the defending champions, and that’s what stood out in the biggest upset of the World Cup so far.
While the Afghanistan story is one of the most inspirational in the annals of contemporary world cricket, some of their recent performances ran the threat of taking the sheen off it. It was imperative that steps were taken to stem the tide.
What Afghanistan needed was inspiration and not bickering. Former coach Phil Simmons had said it well. “The team needs to see each game as an opportunity,” he once said. “The boys need to look back at how they have played in the past and approach every game with full intensity. The way Afghanistan played in the last few games is not a true index of Afghanistan cricket. It doesn’t reflect well with the potential that there is in the team. They can do much better and that’s what is needed going forward.”
Simmons will be pleased after last night. For Afghanistan to bounce back, their senior players needed to step up. Rashid, the best they’ve ever produced, needed to lead from the front. Three wickets and some very important runs when things weren’t looking good at the end made sure he did. Nabi, one of the most talented in the team, had to bowl to potential for them to challenge England. He did. Rashid and Nabi, the two faces of Afghanistan cricket, needed to inspire Gurbaz, Fazal, Naveen and the rest of the boys. They did. Finally, in Mujeeb, they had someone who had finally found his mojo. On a wicket that suited him, he was more than a handful for England.
“When Rashid and Nabi speak, everyone listens, for they are the ones who command respect,” confirmed an insider to RevSportz. “The moment they say something, the entire team is attentive and focussed.”
For the thousands of Afghanistan fans back home, the game against England was of huge importance. Rashid and his boys were taken apart by a quality Indian side. Against the defending champions, much more than pride was at stake. If the team was able to cause an upset, it would mean they could now approach every World Cup game with positivity. But if they ended up losing, internal bickering could take over and cause cardinal damage to the Afghanistan cricket story. For the sake of world cricket, we did not want that to happen.
With a wide-eyed anticipation and excitement so typical of Afghanistan’s remarkable rise, they celebrated the fall of every English wicket with equal volumes of anxiety and passion. It wasn’t over till it was over and even when the 9th wicket fell, Rashid was quick to call the players into a huddle. They just couldn’t let this chance get away from them. England wer on the mat, and one final push was still needed. Enter Rashid Khan. He got Mark Wood, and in that one instant, the former skipper had redeemed himself.
Is Rashid a kind of Jackie Robinson? Has he done what Robinson did with baseball in the United States in the 1940s? Was breaking the colour line any more significant than battling insurgency and making a mark in a global sporting world, thus inspiring a generation to do so? By doing what he did last night, Rashid has not only enhanced his own reputation but also catapulted Afghanistan to the forefront of world cricket’s consciousness this morning. England, the defending champions, have been vanquished and the World Cup has been given a lifeline. This will only add to Rashid’s aura. It is time to unhesitatingly award him the title of the Afghan cricket superhero. Only, he isn’t done yet!