THE RISE OF AFGHANISTAN CRICKET
The recently concluded test match between India and Afghanistan created a new chapter in the history of cricket with Afghanistan becoming the 12th nation to play a test match at the international level. It also marked a new beginning for this relatively young side which has made an impact at the international level by playing good and sporty cricket in One Day Internationals and in the twenty over format.
It has been really a great journey for Afghanistan as far as cricket is concerned because it took them only 23 years to play their first ever test match keeping in mind that their opponent and currently ranked number 1 in ICC Test Ranking took almost 140 years to be granted test and status and play their first ever test match. The first cricket club in India was established in Calcutta (currently known as Kolkata) in 1792, India's national cricket team did not play its first Test match until 25 June 1932 at Lord's. The Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed in 1995 and became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and a member of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in 2003. On 22 June 2017, the International Cricket Council (ICC) awarded Afghanistan full Test status, along with Ireland.
The journey has been special also because of the atmosphere and environment that these young players faced in their initial days. The first thing that comes to our mind when we hear about Afghanistan is about terrorists, bombings, blood, killing and all the stuff related to terrorism. One would think that the people belong to nations like Afghanistan must be struggling to sustain life protecting themselves and their families and trying to make a living, then how come they are able to look beyond these things and focus on other activities like Cricket. And here lies the beauty of Afghanistan Cricket. They have played in an atmosphere where others like you and me would never think of even living.
The Afghanistan cricket started in the refugee camps with an atmosphere not at all fit for living and with the threat of terrorists continuously occupying their minds. And here lies the strength of Afghanistan Cricket. They did not allow their minds to be overpowered by the terrorist activities that were around them and continued to play cricket and move forward in their lives. Afghanistan became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and a member of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in 2003.
At this point of Afghanistan has become full member nation of International Cricket Council(ICC) playing all the three formats of the game. They have ranked 8th in International Twenty20 cricket as of 7 June 2018 ahead of four other full members Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Ireland.
Afghanistan has grown from strength to strength, and they have a long road ahead and a long way to go in the future. According to cricket experts, the Afghanistan team is going to develop quite rapidly in the future and as they mature they are going to become a tough nut to crack for the other international teams. They have truly won the hearts of many who watch cricket because of their hard work, determination and their strong will to play good quality cricket and showcase their talents and show the world that there is something in this side which against all odds have come so far and can touch even greater heights in the future.
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