Trailing Afghanistan from humble beginnings in Sharjah through to their glorious moments  

 By K.R. Nayar From Gros Islet, St Lucia

Afghanistan’s victory over Australia is the second biggest stunning result from the ongoing ICC T20 2024 World Cup, following USA's victory over Pakistan. It gives me immense pride whenever Afghanistan has stunned or given top teams a fright or fight. And that is because, very likely, I may have reported the most number of Afghanistan’s international matches. Since Afghanistan uses UAE’s venues for their home matches and I am based in Dubai, it just happened naturally.

 My encounters with the Afghanistan team and their players began when Abdul Rehman Bukhatir, who brought international cricket to the UAE through the Sharjah tournaments, opened the doors of his Sharjah Cricket Stadium for them to train for free. At that time, they were relatively unknown in international cricket and desperately needed an international venue for their matches and training given the war-torn conditions in their country. No one imagined then that Bukhatir was opening the gates for a nation that would go on to become a Test-playing country and now a team that can beat nations like Australia and New Zealand in a World Cup.

 And because I was following Afghanistan closely, I got the opportunity to became a Test match commentator for Afghanistan’s home series against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi in 2021. 

 Additionally, having reported on  many of the Afghanistan series’, I had the honor of writing a chapter on their performance for the prestigious Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, known as the bible of cricket, in the 2019 edition.

 Most of the Afghanistan players can be seen playing in many of cricket venues in the UAE. They are also close to cricket administrators like Mazhar Khan, General Manager of Sharjah Cricket Stadium, who ensures quick practice sessions for any team who approaches him. Afghanistan’s star players like Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi play in UAE’s domestic tournaments, and I have often reported on their match-winning performances.

 Incidentally, Nabi’s son, Muhammad Hassan Eisakhel, plays in Sharjah tournament’s junior cricket, and when I was the commentator in a CBFS match, both Nabi and his son played together in a match.

 In the historic win against Australia on Saturday in Kingstown, it was Nabi who took the prize wicket of David Warner and caught the last man, Adam Zampa, to ensure their victory. 

 Almost all the talented cricketers in Afghanistan came to Sharjah when they had hosted the Afghanistan Premier League. The turnout for Afghanistan matches in the UAE has always been huge given that many Afghanis are employed in Sharjah’s industrial area. One of the notable aspects of Afghanistan's players is that they are focused on the game, and other things don’t matter to them much. As their skipper Rashid Khan mentioned in his last press conference, self-belief in one’s own skill is most important.

 This World Cup win over Australia and New Zealand is a message that those countries that do not play against Afghanistan are the losers, not them. It was a snub to Australia, who refused to play Afghanistan in a series in the UAE in March 2024, citing political reasons. The sponsor logo on the Afghanistan’s team jersey is Etisalat Afghanistan, which is a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Etisalat UAE. So whoever has supported Afghanistan cricket, this team has made them proud.