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A Test of nerves for Afghanistan in debut against India
BANGALORE, India, June 12, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Shaken by the horrors of war,
Afghanistan will take a mighty step in cricket history when captain Asghar
Stanikzai leads his team out for their first ever Test match against India on
Thursday.
Conflict has scarred virtually every member of the team and they are
impoverished compared with their opponents, the world’s wealthiest cricket
nation.
But Stanikzai said they are determined to show their rise to a Test nation
less than two decades after being recognised by the International Cricket
Council in 2001 is merited.
“It’s a great moment for us as we embark on our Test journey,” said
Stanikzai, who has been a member of the Afghanistan side since they gained
one-day international status in 2009.
“To be competing against the best on the Test rankings table is something
to be proud of and we will try to do our best in whatever chances we get and
exhibit the skills the players possess individually as well as collectively
as a team.”
Afghan cricket grew out of the refugee camps in Pakistan where many
families were based after they fled the Afghan conflict in the 1980s and
1990s.
Now the country is producing world-beaters like 19-year-old spinner Rashid
Khan.
In March, the teenager became the fastest bowler to reach 100 one-day
international wickets, and is currently the world’s top-ranked Twenty20
bowler.
Khan was one of a handful of Afghan players in this year’s Indian Premier
League and proved one of its most dangerous bowlers. He took 21 wickets for
runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad, who paid $1.4 million for his services.
“In my opinion we have better spinners than India,” Stanikzai told Indian
media, highlighting the likes of Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi,
Rahmat Shah and Zahir Khan. After impressive performances in the limited-
overs formats, Afghanistan must prove they can stand the stresses of a five-
day match.
Conditions in India are unlikely to surprise them, though: the team have
been training in the country since 2015 because of poor security at home.
– Passion v experience –
Afghan players got a new reminder of the horrors in their country last
month when an attack on a cricket match in Khan’s home city of Jalalabad
killed eight people and wounded 45.
“Cricket has been a source of happiness and pride for all Afghans,” said
Afghanistan Cricket Board chief Atif Mashal at the time. “These attacks are
against peace, unity and humanity.”
But growing up in a tough environment where such militant attacks were
common did not deter spin sensation Khan.
“The terror in our home area meant we did not have access to an education
while growing up. My parents even forbid my siblings and I to play cricket
outside our home,” Khan, one of 12 children, said in a recent interview with
Afghan media.
“But no amount of war stopped me from sneaking out to play cricket with my
brothers.”
Former Afghanistan coach Inzamam ul Haq, the ex-Pakistan captain, said the
team’s “passion” in adversity sets them apart, and the performances of Khan
and the other spinners in the IPL has boosted their confidence.
But the Afghan spinners will be up against experienced Indian rivals
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja who between them have 476 Test
wickets.
And Indian batsman Karun Nair, famed for his triple century in his third
Test against England in 2016, cast doubt on Stanikzai’s claim of spin
superiority.
“I think that’s a pretty big statement to make considering they haven’t
played Test cricket,” Nair told reporters.
“All of our spinners are proven wicket-takers so there is nothing much to
say on that.”
The Indian team will be led by Ajinkya Rahane in the absence of regular
captain Virat Kohli, who is resting, and are overwhelming favourites.
But the Afghans can give heavyweights India a tough time if they follow
the footsteps of the other team to make their Test debut this year: last
month, Ireland made Pakistan sweat before eventually losing their first-ever
Test.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1714 hrs