How Afghanan went from playing cricket in Pakan’s refugee camps to defeating them at World Cup | Cricket-world-cup News

Imagine an Afghan baritone explaining a cricketing canon of chasing steep totals, controlling emotions, in One Day Internationals. “Afghans hate losing at anything, even in business. But the most in cricket. It’s in our nature to hate losing,” says Raees Ahmedzai, assant coach of the Afghanan cricket team, explaining how the 0-7 win-loss count against Pakan over the years in 50-over cricket had gnawed at their pride. The Afghans travel with bright red print carpets that they spread out to offer evening namaz before starting practice at the MCA stadium in Pune, after arriving from beating Pakan.
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The political tensions between the two neighbouring countries always lent a crackling edge to their faceoffs. “But sometimes aggression creates problems when you can’t control emotions in cricket,” Ahmedzai would patiently say of recurrent Afghan defeats.
Calmly chasing down Pakan’s total of 282/7 this week, Afghanan reached 286/2 with an over to spare with their top four scoring 65, 87, 77* and 48* and two clinical partnerships of 130 and 60. With that horic 8-wicket-win in the World Cup over Pakan at Chennai, the image of the Cool Afghan was born.
Beyond the geopolitical flashpoint of the Afghanan-Pakan border, and the combustible interpersonal equations arising out of how Afghans fleeing war have been treated in Pakani refugee camps, lay a pure cricketing lesson in composure. Indians can snaffle the credit attributing it to one of their smartest middle-order brains, Ajay Jadeja, mentoring the Afghans, and it wouldn’t be off the mark.
But nobody can deny that Messrs Gurbaz, Zadran, Rahmat and Hashmatullah pulled off one of the shrewdest run-chases against the fancied bowling attack of their arch rivals. Only after the victory was sealed did its patient architect Ibrahim Zadran (87 off 113), dedicate the win to the lakhs of Afghan refugees who are being forcibly deported back a paranoid Pakan.
For Raees Ahmadzai, the Chennai chomp to make the score 1-7 was revenge served icy cold, from four years ago. “The loss to Pakan that hurt us Afghans the most was in the 2019 World Cup. We had thought we would win that easily. But Pakan had controlled their emotions better then because of experience. This time, our fielding, batting and bowling were far better than Pakan. And we stuck to our plan,” Ahmadzai remarks. Chasing Afghanan’s target of 227/9 at Headingley, Pakan had won narrowly 3 wickets with 2 balls remaining back in 2019.
Afghans had stewed over a bunch of other losses in the last overs, while coming close to beating Pakan. “But everyone wanted to do something special against them. It’s been four evenings, but Afghans back home are still celebrating because it was Pakan,” Ahmadzai informs.
Painful past
Celebrations typically have seen entire communities getting together for lavish meals, rustled up at the sprawling Hujras – elaborate, inviting guest houses. “People are calling guests over as if it’s Eid. We have these big guest houses where 50-100 people come over to celebrate special occasions. That is how much beating Pakan means to us,” Ahmadzai explains.
Afghanan might not boast of state-of-the-art facilities, but like those expansive rambling homesteads, the Afghans treasure their open spaces, grounds the brooks even with pebbles strewn to run around playing cricket. Space was a luxury denied to most who first learnt cricket in Pakan refugee camps.
Ahmadzai was born at Peshawar after his family fled the Soviet invasion of Afghanan, and settled in one of the cramped refugee settlements. At age eight, he first discovered cricket when Imran Khan won the World Cup in 1992, and his schoolmates described to him snatches of what the game was. He slowly fell in love with the sport, but playing it was a torment as a refugee child. “I spent a lot of time in refugee camps in Pakan, living in tents in what were restricted areas. Sometimes we wanted to play, but were not allowed to cross to that side. For us, from watching cricket in refugee camps in Pakan to getting into a position to beating them at World Cups is immense,” he adds.
Ahmadzai would return to Logan province and become a part of the national team which was formed in 2001, and that progressed to the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifiers and later gained ODI status. Returning felt free. Debuting against Scotland, he scored 39, helping Afghanan to a 39 run victory in the first-ever ODI the country had ever played. He would go on to play the ICC World T20 in 2010, and then move into coaching.
While cricket afforded some solace as a child, life as a refugee was hard. “Till 15-16 we had no shoes, running on hot baking surfaces in 45 degrees. Our junior team didn’t have spikes. There was no clean running water and there were lots of inspections,” he recalls. Inspections typically meant taunts as refugees and less-than-civil interactions from authorities, memories that scarred. “Yes, some of us learnt cricket in Pakan. But this team has trained in Afghanan with our facilities, our mentality, our aggression and our traditions.”
He goes a step further. “India is No 1 in Asia, but the day is not far when Afghanan will dislodge Pakan as No 2 in the subcontinent. So the Chennai win wasn’t just a big thing for the team, but it was the best day in the hory of Afghanan.”
Ahmadzai reckons that their success wasn’t entirely unexpected. “A win is a win, and we hate to lose. We had the skills and passion, but the one against England gave us confidence. It was sad to lose against New Zealand, but we were expecting to beat them with good spinners and in ideal conditions. We have come well prepared,” he says.Most Read
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While the spinners Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman and Noor Ahmed were expected to deliver, the batsmen have held strong in discipline too. It is only their third ODI against England and the Kiwis. “If big teams play us more often, they are soon going to think twice about considering us underdogs,” he adds.
It is in the manner of their wins that the Afghans have stunned the most. “We beat England one-sided on a good batting track,” he offers. The Afghans whacked 280+ against both England and Pakan. “Inshallah we’ll win more matches,” he says.
Ahmadzai recalls being deterred his father from playing cricket, which was then seen as a Pakani sport, and a draction from studies. “There was no family support. I had problems with my father who stopped me. Now when he takes my kids to the ground, I ask him why he didn’t support me! But now, Afghan girls and boys and women follow cricket, know all the three formats. Cricket is good for the unity of the nation, it’s not about different languages or different tribes.”