Cricket World Cup: Afghan globe-trotters, with T20 franchise experience from around the world, best prepared to excel in subcontinental conditions | Cricket-world-cup News

Afghanan is yet to play an international fixture at home. Lack of cricketing infrastructure and facilities means they train in the UAE. Yet the team that upset world champions England looks a well-prepared side that has been quick to adapt to conditions. It doesn’t come as a surprise when one traces the cricketing journeys of various individuals in this exciting squad.
Afghanan has a handful of players with vast experience and exposure of playing in different countries and conditions. Every T20 league around the world has a liberal sprinkling of Afghan players. Sharing the dressing room with the game’s greats, learning from the best cricketing minds and using the best facilities across the globe; franchise cricket has helped shape a team of travellers.
In Rashid Khan, they have a pioneer globe-trotter, who has played for 16 teams in 9 countries. But it doesn’t end with Rashid these days. The corresponding numbers for the other key members of the squad are equally impressive.
Sample this: Mujeeb Ur Rahman (16 teams, 8 countries), Mohammad Nabi (15 teams, 6 countries), Noor Ahmad (9 teams, 7 countries), Naveen-ul-Haq (14 teams, 9 countries), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (11 teams, 6 countries) and Najibullah Zardan (12 teams, 6 countries)
Afghanan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi underlines the benefits of having a well-travelled team. “League cricket benefits our cricket. Like the players who played leagues, you know, that international pressure becomes a little bit less with that because they are used to being with big players,” he said.
Like the West Indies in the last decade, who thrived on playing in T20 leagues, the current lot of Afghanan players are entering a similar territory. The wealth of experience that these leagues provide is being gobbled the national team now.
Be it playing in front of huge crowds in different landscapes or playing in varied conditions and rubbing shoulders with the best, they are benefitting from the experience. In every edition, the number of Afghan players featuring in the IPL, Big Bash League, Pakan Super League and Caribbean Premier League has only been increasing.
Their game against England was a perfect illustration of what they could do in conditions that suit them. Naveen, sensing the two-paced nature of the Kotla surface, bowled the cutter that castled Jos Buttler. Mujeeb, 22, was able to read the conditions better than anyone else, using his variations with precision to leave England flummoxed.
Raw talent
As several T20 leagues begin to sprout back home in Afghanan, several IPL scouts have their ears and cameras aligned to Kabul these days. One of them was even open to travel to Kabul to scout a couple of teenagers, but decided against it because of tensions in the region.
There is an underlying theme to why there are so many lenses on Afghan prodigies, more than on those from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – two teams which have plenty of spinners and batsmen suited to the conditions in which IPL teams play.
“They are raw and from the trials we see one common trait among all, which is how quickly they adapt to the conditions. Especially on the bowling front, they are able to gauze which ball will work where and when. With exposure, they only keep learning,” says a T20 scout.Most Read
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Last IPL, Allah Mohmmad Ghazanfar, 15, was regered in the IPL auction as more than one franchise had their eyes on the off-spinner. “Since they don’t have strong foundations, most of these players before being picked are part of various teams as net bowlers or cover. And once they spend a season or two and get exposure in some other league, they look totally different cricketers,” the scout added.
Mujeeb is a case in point. Though he looked more of a No.10 or 11 in his initial years, in the last couple of years there has been a gradual improvement in his batting. With only limited overseas spots available and multi-dimensional players having an edge in selection, Mujeeb of late has been working extensively on his batting as well. Before the Asia Cup, batting at No.9, he scored 64 against Pakan. And against England on Sunday, he made a vital 28 to propel Afghanan to 284.
Though the seam-bowling ranks are still a work in progress, in sub-continental conditions they are a force to reckon with. It is the reason why Afghanan’s fixtures in Delhi, Chennai and Lucknow have generated plenty of interest. In the southern metropolis, where they are set to face New Zealand and Pakan in back-to-back matches, Afghanan know they can cause another upset or two, provided their batting unit complements their bowlers.