Afghanistan Cricket Lighting Up an Otherwise One-Sided ICC World Cup 2023

Afghanistan have pulled off two of the biggest upsets of this ICC World Cup 2023, beating England and Pakistan.

A strong fighting spirit and passion are the biggest assets of the Afghans, and these qualities are amply displayed in their cricket as well. So far, the Afghanistan cricket team has displayed the stomach to fight against superior opposition in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.

As a result, they have registered unexpected wins against defending champions England and past winners Pakistan – and promise to continue their good work.

In the five matches Afghanistan have played so far, Hasmathullah Shahidi’s team has staged two great comebacks after heavy losses, underlining their fighting qualities. Having launched their campaign with a poor batting display against Bangladesh, and failing to defend a decent total against India, they gathered themselves marvellously and stunned England, with both their batsmen and bowlers firing on all cylinders.

In their next match, Afghanistan bowlers lost focus against a well-oiled New Zealand and then their batsmen capitulated against a quality bowling attack. Just five days later, Shahidi’s fighters again rose like a phoenix, against Pakistan, and surprised them as their batting line-up posted its third 270-plus total of the tournament.

Afghan batsmen have been both good and bad while setting up a target and defending it; their bowlers have been brilliant and poor while making the first use of the conditions and defending totals. So, consistency, one of the key elements of the game, is clearly missing there. One day they look unbeatable, the next day they look pedestrian.

Perhaps, the Afghans either get too high on emotions and lose focus, thus becoming complacent after a win, or get too bogged down facing big challenges and give in easily to their opponents.

Whatever be their mind-set, at the moment Afghanistan are locked in a mid-table huddle with Pakistan and Australia with four points, though the Aussies have played one match less than the five played by the other two. Afghanistan have two tough games (against Australia and South Africa) and possibly two not-so-tough matches (against a depleted Sri Lanka and the Netherlands) coming up.

To stay afloat, they will have to repeat their Pakistan performance. If they raise their game again in these four matches, which will test them to the hilt, they can even dream of a semi-finals berth. As Sachin Tendulkar says, dreams do come true.

Here, more than Shahidi, probably coach Trott will have to drill the self-belief deeper than into the players’ minds and system. How much he will succeed only time will tell. At the moment, the Afghan players are on cloud nine – and justifiably so.

Afghans are brilliant individual cricketers. Now, importantly and crucially, they will have to try and play as a unit, looking at match scenarios and requirements, and not get ahead of themselves. To win more -- and crucial -- matches they will have to adhere to these parameters strictly.

Talent Abound

Afghanistan would take heart from the fact that six of their batsmen have scored at least one half-century each in this World Cup; Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who also keeps wickets, has smashed two. Openers Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have provided their team a solid launch pad, which helps a great deal whether setting up targets or chasing them down.

It seems there is no dearth of talent in Afghanistan. Among others, they have two quality Chinaman bowlers in 18-year-old Noor Ahmed and Zahir Khan. Noor was picked for the World Cup ahead of Zahir, who is presently playing for the other Afghan national team in Oman.

Trott will have to ensure that Afghanistan utilises these talented youngsters judiciously and channelises their energies towards team goals and targets.

Familiarity With Conditions

Some credit for Afghanistan’s good show goes to their familiarity with the Indian conditions. Several of their key players like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, their senior most member, off-spinner Mujeebur Rahman, Shahidi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Najibullah Zadran, and Rahmat Shah etc know the local conditions well.

They have all been part of long preparatory camps in Greater Noida, which has been their ‘home’ since 2015, besides playing their ‘home’ international matches in Dehradun, and Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium. So, they are, generally speaking, largely aware of the weather and other conditions in India. Speedster Naveenul Haq, particularly, knows the conditions at Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium better than his teammates as he is part of IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants. His other teammates, like Rashid Khan and Nabi, play for the other franchises.

Afghanistan presently have former India player Ajay Jadeja as their mentor for the World Cup. That must be an advantage for their players, as Jadeja had been a street smart cricketer – he even tried to ‘sledge/distract’ Sachin Tendulkar in his farewell Ranji Trophy match in 2013 -- and must be passing on knowledge of the local conditions to his wards.

Earlier, Afghanistan have benefited from having former India internationals Lalchand Rajput and Manoj Prabhakar, besides Umesh Patwal (batting coach) and Monty Desai (batting coach) in coaching roles. Rajput was the head coach from 2016 to 2018 while Prabhakar was their bowling coach in 2019.

“Yes, I am very happy for Afghanistan. They get happiness playing cricket and victories bring happiness to their entire country and bring their people together,” Rajput told The Quint. “Afghanistani players’ familiarity with the Indian conditions has helped them 100 per cent. They have the best spin attack in the tournament. If they adapt well to the conditions they could be more dangerous. They are a driven lot and play their cricket most passionately and never shirk hard work.”

Rajput said when he was in-charge the Afghan players “were keen to emulate fitness of Indian and Australian cricketers”.

Prabhakar pointed out the advantages. “Their youngsters are positive and brilliant. Their body language is outstanding. Technique is crucial – it can make you win games and it can make you lose,” he told The Quint.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board was keen to sign a fresh MoU with the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, which owns and manages the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, to continue their association with their ‘home base’. But then the first wave of Covid came and the talks remained inconclusive.

Interestingly, Trott, like Rajput and Prabhakar, has reportedly still not visited Afghanistan in a little over a year of his taking over the reins. So, there are indications that Afghanistan would look to find a ‘home’ away from home to build on the good work they have done so far in the World Cup. And an Indian city looks the best for that.

(The writer has covered cricket for over three decades, based in New Delhi. He tweets at @AlwaysCricket.)