Cricket is a sport that might not be as popular as football, but over the years it has acted as a source of reprieve for many players, and teams. One such side is the Afghanistan national team who have risen through the ranks over the last two decades to establish itself as giant killers on the international stage
History of Afghanistan national cricket team
Cricket has been played in Afghanistan since the mid-19th century, but it was not till the early 21st century that the side began to enjoy success. Early records indicate that cricket in Afghanistan was played by the colonizing British troops playing a match in Kabul in 1839, though it appears that no long-lasting legacy of cricket was left by the British.
In the 1990s, cricket became popular amongst the Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan but it was not until 1995 that the Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and a member of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in 2003.
After nearly a decade of playing international cricket, the side were given full ICC Membership (and therefore Test status) in 2017 at an ICC meeting in London alongside another minnows team in Ireland. This took the number of Test cricket-playing nations to twelve. Afghanistan is also the first country to ever achieve Full Member status after holding Affiliate Membership of the ICC.
T20 World Cup History of Afghanistan National Cricket Team
It was a while coming but Afghanistan finally played that first major ICC tournament in 2010, when they defeated the United Arab Emirates by 4 wickets to make their way to the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 to be in the West Indies in April 2010. Since then, they have played in every T20 World Cup there has been but it was not till the 2014 edition that they won their first match at the marquee tournament.
They beat Hong Kong in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 but could not make it to the next stage of the super 10 having lost the two matches to Bangladesh and Nepal. But their most emphatic win came in 2016, when the side beat the eventual champions, West Indies, during their final group match of the tournament.
Afghanistan National Cricket Team debut in ODI World Cup
Afghanistan made their World Cup debut in the 50-over format of the game against Bangladesh at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, Australia. The match resulted in a 105-run defeat. But despite this, they had the experience of playing against top ODI teams like Australia, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand and England. Qualification for the tournament was a historic feat for cricket in Afghanistan, one amplified by the fact that the team included many players who picked up the game in refugee camps outside their long-suffering country.
When Taliban takeover of Afghanistan National Cricket Team
In August 2021, concerns and doubts were raised over the participation of the Afghanistan national cricket team in future international matches ever since Afghanistan was brought under the control of the Taliban. But these concerns were quashed by Taliban spokespersons, who stated that the organisation would not disrupt the men's cricket team's participation in international matches and that they would allow Afghanistan to play their first-ever bilateral series against Pakistan in Sri Lanka.
Performance of Afghanistan Cricket Team in 2022 T20 World Cup
Mohammad Nabi, who led Afghanistan at the Asia Cup 2022, takes up the captaincy reins again. Samiullah Shinwari, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat and Noor Ahmad, all of whom were a part of the Asia Cup squad, missed out.
Afghanistan are in Group 1 in the T20 World Cup and begin their campaign on 22 October against England in Perth. They had a lukewarm campaign last season, having finished fourth in Group 2 with two wins in five matches.
Afghanistan Cricket Team Full squad for T20 World Cup 2022
Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Salim Safi, Usman Ghani
Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rahmat Shah, Gulbadin Naib
Afghanistan Cricket Team Schedule for T20 World Cup 2022:
22 October – Afghanistan v England, Perth
26 October – Afghanistan v New Zealand, Melbourne
28 October – Afghanistan v TBA, Melbourne
01 November – Afghanistan v TBA, Brisbane
04 November – Afghanistan v Australia, Adelaide
