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Afghanistan dare to dream

On a high after qualifying for next year's ICC World Cup, war-torn nation's cricket team is gunning for gold in Incheon

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Afghanisthan are making rapid strides in cricket
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Afghanistan cricket is at the crossroads. On one hand, they are hoping to attain Test status by 2030 (even the Taliban are cheering them on!). But on the other, this war-ravaged country is getting no support from 'big brother' Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

After all these decades of fighting and the perennial fear of suicide bombers at playgrounds, Afghanistan cricketers want to infuse a rare feeling of joy in the fractured country by winning the gold medal in Incheon. It could well open the door to a sea of opportunities for this team. The team is largely made up young players who finished seventh in the ICC Under-19 World Cup.

On a high after qualifying for next year's ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Afghanistan cricket will benefit if their players do well in Incheon. And as far as coach Hasti Gul Abid is concerned, Afghan kids are now "daring to dream". The 30-year-old, who played two ODIs in 2009, says aspiring cricketers want to be like "MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli".

"There is tremendous potential in our juniors. But the problem is that of international exposure. Our cricket board has written to the BCCI, requesting it to help train our boys in better conditions by either allowing them to play in the Indian domestic set-up or by inviting our national team to take part in one of the domestic tournaments," Abid says.

However, the BCCI has not even bothered to reply.

Cricket in Afghanistan received a fillip after their team beat neighbours Pakistan at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. That apart, Afghanistan have beaten the likes of Kenya, Bangladesh and the UAE.

"We requested our president, Hamid Karzai, to support us. He simply told us to beat Pakistan and then bring up the topic. And when we defeated Pakistan in Guangzhou, the government came forward and started helping cricket activities," Abid adds.

Afghanistan were finally given the opportunity to participate in the Asia Cup early this year. This would not have happened without India's help. dna has learnt that it was the Indian ambassador in Afghanistan who convinced top BCCI officials to include the minnows.

And when external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj announced an aid of US $10 lakh to build a stadium in Kandahar, the cricket fraternity erupted in joy. Even the Taliban has now embraced cricket.

And the difference is visible. Now, there are 45 contracted players in Afghanistan. A senior national team player gets US $2,200 a month. And players, like the ones participating here in South Korea, get $1,600 or $800 according to their seniority.

"Like any other top team, players are graded and offered contracts accordingly. Their performances are also taken into account. And the money that we get is sufficient to take care of our needs and focus completely on the game," speedster Hamid Hassan says.

Sledge Steyn at your risk
During the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies, the Afghan players learned a big lesson. Opener Mohammad Shahzad, who is popularly known as MS, narrated an incident on Wednesday. "We restricted the Proteas to 139/7. One of our players then sledged Dale Steyn. He said 'We're going to beat you' or something on those lines," Shahzad recalled. The world's best bowler was obviously fired up. "It was difficult to sight his bullets," Shahzad added. Steyn returned figures of 3-0-6-2 and Morne Morkel picked up 4/20 as the Afghans were reduced to 12/5, 14/6, 25/7, 32/8 and eventually bowled out for 80. "Steyn taught us that one should never get overconfident. The game is not over till it's over," said Shahzad, who was one of Steyn's victims on that day.

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