Afghan odyssey set to break new ground
On April 1, when Afghanistan meet Denmark on Day One of the ICC World Cup qualifiers in South Africa, they will do so realising they are one step away from what most would have thought an impossibility — playing the cricket World Cup, writes
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
On April 1, when Afghanistan meet Denmark on Day One of the ICC World Cup qualifiers in South Africa, they will do so realising they are one step away from what most would have thought an impossibility — playing the cricket World Cup, writes Kadambari Murali Wade in the Hindustan Times.
Unlike Mangal, most of the players learnt their cricket in refugee camps in and around Peshawar. Fast bowler Hamid Hassan, who reportedly bowls at over 140kmph consistently, grew up there after his family moved from Nangrahar in 1991-92 to avoid the armed conflict. Ditto for Nabi, who says his family moved there from Logar “at the start of the Russian war”. But unlike Hassan, he doesn’t see himself ever going home to Logar. “One day perhaps,” he says, “But it’s not safe there now.” Logar, incidentally, has been a stronghold for various jehadi groups including the Jamaat for years, even referred to by locals as the “Gates of jehad” during the fight against Soviet occupation. For now though, home for Nabi’s family is in Nangrahar district, where there are over 200 registered cricket clubs.
George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo