• Source:JND
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Afghanistan Cricket Team:  Afghanistan, a country with a thousand wounds and a million sorrows, brimmed with hopes yet again on Monday when Naveen-ul-Haq speared a fuller-length delivery to Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman in a T20 World Cup's group 8 match, sending him back to the pavilion and inching his war-torn country closer to live another day in the annals of history. For the past three years, the landlocked Asian nation has had nothing to look up to except for a blue-clad Cricket team, trying to signal a thumbs-up of existence back home. The nation, which has mostly seen wars and bloodshed in the last five decades, has one thing to show to the world and that is - a Cricket team which has taken down giants of the Gentlemen's game, invented by one of its former colonisers.

The growth story of Afghanistan Cricket in the past decade and the situation and the context under which it tried to thrive can amaze onlookers. In 2021, when the Taliban returned to power in Kabul, concerns marred the Cricketing community worldwide as to what would become of the promising future of Afghanistan Cricket.

Afghanistan Cricket Under Taliban Regime

Based on the 'anti-sports' stance of the previous Taliban regime of 1996-2001, many speculated that this might be the end of the game in the country - which got its full-time ICC membership just four years ago. Yet, here we are! Yesterday, soon after the match ended, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) shared a video on microblogging site X, showing skipper Rashid Khan having a celebratory and congratulatory video call with an Afghan Taliban leader and country's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. 55-year-old Muttaqi, who was an active member of the Taliban insurgency and imposed Sharia as an education minister in Taliban 1.0, could be heard showering applauds on the Team Afghan and skipper Rashid.

Similar displays of the Taliban's acceptance of Cricket were seen earlier too - indicating a shift in the Islamic Emirate's hardline policy towards the game. But why Taliban favour Cricket while opposing other sports? There are two main reasons - first is the autocratic militiamen realise that they need some form of international diplomatic validation, and the second - Taliban recognises Cricket's popularity and potential as a unifying force in a landlocked country marred by tribal, social and political divisions. However, the regime’s broader restrictions on media, women's participation in sports, and public life still raise genuine concerns.

Who Controls Afghanistan Cricket?

Theoretically, the Afghanistan Cricket Board or ACB is the official body which governs, controls and manages Cricketing activities in the Taliban-ruled country. However, there's more to it in practical terms. Afghanistan Cricket, though controlled by the Taliban-governed ACB, gets most of its financial support from the Emirates Cricket Board. After the 2021 Taliban takeover, many professional cricketers and administrators fled the pariah nation, leaving a big question of the country's sporting future behind, however, UAE's logistical, visa and housing support helped the team gain its footing.

(Afghanistan players celebrate after winning the match by 8 wickets over Pakistan/REUTERS)

Even in the T20 World Cup 2024, a telecommunications company of UAE, Etisalat, is the official sponsor of the team. This is however, complemented by the efforts of the International Cricket Council, which provides the ACB funding for various cricketing activities, including development programs, infrastructure, and participation in international tournaments.