India, home talent inspiring Afghans
KOLKATA: Talk Bollywood with an Afghan and he would be more than happy to chip in with his two cents. Cricket prompts discussions on how MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have become the new icons in their nation.
Members of Afghan-istan’s U-19 are seated on the floor, eating together, and respond to questions with a smile even though language is a barrier for some. But just don’t bring up the topic of war, Taliban or how it affected a few generations. They want to move on.
For starters, they no longer depend on players based outside the country. “All players are homegrown and live in Kabul, Jalalabad and their suburbs. They were born there and grew up playing cricket there,” said coach Dawlat Ahmadzai, ahead of a Tri-series starting on Friday. India play Bangladesh in the opening game.
Manager Naweed Sayem points out where the seeds of change were sown. “Many of these players’ families were
muhajirs (refugees) who had gone to India and Pakistan. There they saw the craze for cricket and wanted to bring the game to Afghanistan. That is how the game grew.”
While decades of strife destroyed pretty much everything in Afghanistan, cricket has taken big strides. “Today, we have a cricket academy in Kabul, five outdoor facilities with cricket grounds in different parts of the country, and even some indoor facilities with gyms,” Ahmadzai said.
The infrastructure has helped nurture homegrown talent.