EXCLUSIVE: Asghar Afghan opens up on early struggles of Afghanistan cricket

In the first part of the interview Asghar Afghan spoke about the struggle of Afghanistan cricket before their debut in 2010 T20 WC.

In an exclusive interview with Khel Now, former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan delved into the untold story of Afghanistan cricket’s difficult journey before their meteoric rise on the international stage. Asghar revealed the challenges and hardships faced by the team in their formative years, highlighting the sheer determination and resilience that paved the way for their success. 

Before their surprising entry to the 2010 T20 World Cup in West Indies, the Afghanistan cricket team grappled with issues such as lack of infrastructure, financial constraints, and the constant backdrop of political instability in their homeland. 

Asghar Afghan emerged as one of the key architects in steering the team through these adversities, laying the foundation for what would eventually become the modern-day success story of Afghanistan cricket.

Asghar Afghan’s insights shed light on the sacrifices made by the players and the then support staff, who navigated through a myriad of challenges to put Afghanistan cricket on the global map. The interview serves as a testament to the unwavering spirit of the team and the leadership that propelled them from obscurity to the brink of a semi-final spot in the 2023 ICC ODI Cricket World Cup. 

“I am going to tell you an interesting story which no one knows apart from a few people in Government,” Asghar began. “We started our journey in the ACC Qualifiers in the year 2004 for a place in 2006 Asia Cup  but we lost the semifinals and did not qualify. We played the same tournament in 2006 and again we lost to Hong Kong in the semifinals.”

No sponsors

Afghanistan, when they started they had no sponsors and had to rely on themselves for the equipments. Asghar went on and said, “Honestly, at that time, there was no money in cricket. Our senior players, especially Nawroz Mangal, Karim Sadiq, Hasti Gulabid, Daulat Ahmadzai, Khaliqdad Noori were very poor. These guys used to work during the day and play cricket during the night. Myself and (Mohammad) Nabi had family support but we were poor and living in refugee camps as refugees.”

The turning point

In the 2007 ACC tournament, Afghanistan’s cricket team faced a critical turning point following their defeat against Hong Kong. The moment occurred when Asghar Bajwa, a member of the Bahrain cricket team, a namesake of the Afghanistan team captain, played a significant role in shaping the team’s destiny. shared a crucial piece of information with the Afghan captain.

This revelation added an interesting twist to the narrative, setting the stage for a crucial encounter that would determine the course of Afghanistan cricket.

The coach was pleading to play the game but there was this player from Bahrain who shared the same first and name was Asghar Bajwa he told me at the hotel,

Asghar Afghan: (Angrily) Are you laughing at us ?

Asghar Bajwa: No, I am serious, You have a very important match today.

Afghan: How important?

Bajwa: If you win this match, you will qualify for Division 5

Ashgar Afghan: What is there (in Division 5)?

Asghar Bajwa: Division 5 is in Jersey and (if you win)you will qualify for Division 4.

Asghar Afghan: If we win there, what will happen?

Asghar Bajwa: Division 3 and after qualifying Division 1, you have a chance of making it into the World Cup.

Afghan: (perplexed) is it?

Asghar Bajwa: Honestly, it is You don’t know?

Afghan: We don’t know anything. I then went and told all the players to gather in a circle and I asked Asghar Bajwa to come in between and explain. He said the same thing.

We then asked the ICC management if what he said was right. They said, this is right. Don’t you know? I said, we don’t know anything about it. Thereafter,we made a decision to play and God gave us a chance. We qualified for Division 5 and we won it. We had a lot of time with Division 5. We won Division 5, Division 4, and Division 3. In Division 1, we got the ODI status in 2011.”

This interview was conducted during the Legends League Cricket tournament. Second part of the story will be published soon, watch out the space for more.

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