The dream rise of Afghanistan – journey to the 2019 World Cup

Jersey, Singapore, Botswana, Japan and Bahamas.

Even a die-hard cricket fan may not be aware of cricket credentials of these nations. These five nations were in group B of the ICC World Cricket League division five in 2008. The sixth nation in this group was Afghanistan. While these five teams are yet to make a mark in mainstream cricket, the Afghans have already won a game in the ODI World Cup and have a Test win to boast.

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Cricket started growing in Afghanistan in the previous decade. Their first few teams were made up of refugees from Pakistan while the locals had just started taking up the game. Afghanistan cricket found an unlikely ally in Taliban who decreed cricket to be the only allowed sport in the country. By 2004, Afghanistan’s team started taking part in Pakistani cricket tournaments. They kept growing rapidly, and the first sign of their competitiveness was seen in 2006.

The MCC team, made up mostly of former cricketers well past their prime, landed in Mumbai for exhibition matches. The Afghanistan team was also invited. The MCC team led by former English captain Mike Gatting was in for a surprise. The feisty Afghans defeated one of the cricket’s oldest clubs by 171 runs.

Two years later, Afghanistan took giant strides in international cricket. They won the 2008 ICC World Cricket League Division Five by two wickets against Jersey. In the same year, they defeated Hong Kong in Division Four and kept marching upwards. In 2009, the Afghans triumphed in the Division Three and also sealed their place in the 2011 World Cup qualifiers.

Although the dream of playing in the ODI World Cup did not materialize in 2010, Afghanistan won the 2010 T20 Qualifier by defeating experienced teams like Ireland, Scotland, USA, and UAE. The Asian nation played against India and South Africa in their maiden T20 World Cup and has appeared in every T20 World Cup since. In the 2016 edition, they went on to defeat West Indies, the eventful champions and are currently ranked seventh in the world.

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With second place in the World Cricket League championship, Afghanistan secured their qualification in the 14-team 2015 World Cup. They played their maiden World Cup match against Bangladesh at Canberra where they were defeated by 105 runs. In the third match versus Scotland, Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran stitched a 19-run partnership for the last wicket to clinch Afghanistan’s first-ever win in the prestigious event. This remained their only victory in the campaign.

Afghanistan’s first win in the ODI World Cup

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For the 2019 World Cup, ICC turned ruthless on the Associate nations. The number of participants was reduced to 10. With eight spots going to full-member nations, only two were available for all other teams. The 2018 World Cup qualifier event at Zimbabwe featured seasoned teams like West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands and Afghanistan.

Although the Afghans were favourites to clear this hurdle, they were jolted right at the start. They lost to Scotland, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong and their campaign was hanging by a thread. A win against Nepal and other favourable results propelled the Afghans into the Super Six stage and they were a different team after that.

Windies were the first team down. A three-wicket win against the Caribbean islands helped Afghanistan gain the momentum. Consecutive wins against UAE and Ireland took the Asian team to the top spot of the qualifiers. In the final, they humbled West Indies by seven wickets. A team that had the least chance of qualifying finished as the winner of the competition. The tournament was the fractal of Afghanistan’s rise over the years.

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In the 2019 World Cup, Afghanistan will not be there just to participate. They will not be there to win any hearts. It is a serious team that competes hard. The likes of Mohammad Nabi, Hamid Hassan and Noor Ali Zadran have been an integral part of the nation’s journey from division five to the World Cup. Their presence makes this campaign even more special for Afghanistan. A few spoiling wins in the 2019 World Cup will be the best tribute by this team to Afghanistan’s efforts in their incredible rise.