28 November 2009
Afghanistan, who have been unbeaten so far in the Asian Cricket Council Twenty20 Championship, have shown that commitment and dedication can fetch success. The key is their special bonding and working as a unit.
Behind this success, there is a long story that has seen a lot of people working towards bringing this team together and building their mental strength. “Every single player in my team has a war story to tell that has impacted his life in one way or the other,” said Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan.
“But the key, since I took over as their coach, was to prepare them mentally. They have the potential and talentwise they are gifted. The challenge was how to use them and bring the best out of them. The positive thing is they are hungry and willing to learn.”
Although Afghanistan failed to qualify for the 2011 World Cup, they earned ODI status until 2013, making them the first affiliate nation in the history of cricket to gain ODI status. With this promotion came additional responsibility and Khan felt that the boys needed more exposure. “At top level we need consistency in performance. For consistency, we need to play consistent cricket and need to conduct lot of camps and tours.
“For this we will have to be hugely dependant on Pakistan and India. If they could give us a chance to play their domestic cricket that will groom our cricketers. We have requested them and we are looking for a positive answer,” he added.
Lamenting that Afghanistan still was not equipped with top class facilities, the former Pakistan international said: “We have only club cricket and that is very basic. There is not a lot of grass over there, very few turf wickets and only cement wickets. We also don’t have funds and facilities and this is the reason we bank on India, Pakistan and even Bangladesh or any cricket playing nation to allow our players to play in their domestic league.”
Despite all these hiccups, Afghanistan have managed to make huge strides, which Khan felt was no easy task. It involved a lot of struggle before he could shape them and bring in the confidence that they could think this was a possibility. “It was a tough task for a coach. Because any coach who goes there will be thinking of his security first. Luckily I live in Peshwar, right by the border. We have gone through the same. My plus point is language since I speak both Persian and Pashto. So it was easy to coach them in their own language.”
Khan agreed that Afghanistan possessed raw talent that made things a little easy. “Getting a team together wasn’t very easy. But there is a lot of talent there. When I watch under-15 or under-19 trials, I know I can easily replace this team. So that makes you feel happy as a coach and the future looks bright.”
The main advantage, unlike other affiliate countries where cricket is a part time job, in Afghanistan they are full time cricketers. “For Aghanistan cricketers, the game is their bread and butter. Even if they don’t get paid for playing they still play the game. Its kind of a passion. Recently we have started to pay them a minimum wage and they get $300 per month which is quite a good wage in Afghanistan. We want to further improve it and the board is keen on doubling it in the future. We do not want them to be a burden on their families.”
About grooming at the grassroot level, Khan said: “The grassroot level depends on Pakistan and India, because most of the players, including the migrants want to play cricket there. Cricket culture has started in Afghanistan. They now have at least 500 clubs in diffferent areas. Young talent is coming from there. But it is very difficult to bring them together. We constantly try to arrange camps and trials.”
All Afghanistan now need is more top level games against top class opposition.
