When office colleagues erupted at around 10.30am, I felt ‘Oh, Litton Das must have scored the winning run.’ I was wrong. The principally Bengali ‘watching-the-match-on-the-smartphone’ audience at Trisys, my company, was celebrating Afghanistan’s entry into the semi-finals instead. That is strange, I thought. I spent the better part of the day asking colleagues and friends why they were celebrating the victory of a country they had never visited or were never likely to or where none of their relatives lived or were likely to.
This is what they told me.
- “This victory represents the Afghanistanisation of Cricket, which means that someone sitting in a corner of Papua & New Guinea or Fiji, or Nepal will begin to dream that it would not be improbable to beat England or Australia someday on the international stage. To rephrase Louis Armstrong (‘A kiss to build a dream on’), this was a win to build a nation on.”
- “Afghanistan reaching the semi-finals represents the biggest advance that any country has made in world cricket after Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996. It took world cricket 28 years to create a new star; in the first instance, Sri Lanka was a war-ravaged country; Afghanistan is no different. It is amazing what cricket can do to lift the mood or morale of nations coming out of warfare.”
- “Every single team — across sports — will turn to Afghanistan for inspiration on how to succeed against the odds. The country dominates the batting and bowling leader board. Its coach Jonathan Trott suffered anxiety and depression before quitting cricket; Jadeja was the most astute cricket brain never to lead India accused of match-fixing but mentored Afghanistan without any honorarium. What stories!”
Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga with the 1996 World Cup in Lahore. TT Archives
- “Old world romantics call this T20 thing a circus, but the world of cricket owes this format a debt of gratitude if this format is going to emerge as a social leveler that gives entire nations hope that tomorrow could be better. Who knows, but this victory and the country entering the semi-finals could be just the turnaround Afghanistan needs as a nation.”
- “I hope the practitioners of realpolitik are watching this. This is a masterclass of how goodwill is built among people. Even the dreaded Taliban will thaw somewhat at the sheer joy this would have unleashed among ordinary Afghans, who are fundamentally good people.”
- “There is a dignity in the way the Afghanistan team has conducted itself through this tournament. Never insufferable in victory and never intolerable in defeat. From being virtual outcasts, they have emerged as model cricketers within the space of one fortnight.”
Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan (right) celebrates with teammate Mohammad Ishaq after dismissing Bangladesh’s Soumya Sarkar during the Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh at Arnos Vale Ground, Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. PTI
- “This is not the story of Afghanistan. This is the story of every underdog; this is the story of us. If this is what this team can do with no resources, then this is a potent story of mind prevailing over matter. After this win, anything is possible, and anything can be achieved – in our lives!”
- “After Afghanistan had lost to Australia from having the former at 91 for 7 and 200 runs behind during the World Cup 2023, there was a feeling that all outcomes were inevitably loaded in favor of the big and mighty. Today justice was delivered!”
- “There was a vicarious pleasure in seeing Australia exit the tournament. India got its direct revenge a day earlier; Afghanistan sent them out of the tournament a day later. Afghanistan had the whole of India praying for it. How could they not win?”
- “The match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh will remain a master lesson in calm in the face of a virtually indefensible total. It brought memories of India (125) beating Pakistan (87) at Sharjah in the Rothmans Cup of 1985 and India defending 119 against Pakistan and pulling it off from that hopeless position to win by six runs on 9 June, 2024.”
- “The Afghanistan players are our brothers. They have done Indian cricket a big favour by sending Australia home.”
- “What amazed me was Afghanistan’s team spirit. It showed that they could die for their country on the cricket field.”
Rashid Khan and Gulbadin Naib of Afghanistan take a victory lap after the team advanced to the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup. Photograph courtesy: ICC
- “This was not a cricket match at all. This was a story of human struggle and triumph. This was cricket’s Shawshank Redemption.”
- “There cannot but be respect for Nabi, who played for his country in the ICC Division 4 and is now a part of the team that has gone into the T20 World Cup semi-finals. What a journey!”
- “Afghanistan beat Australia in a grudge match after Australia refused to tour Afghanistan for a cricket series in March 2024. Divine justice!”
- “I can almost see Afghanistan becoming a metaphor in our everyday lives for doing more with less. I can almost see a teacher drive students to better their game with the line ‘If Afghanistan could have done it, why can’t you?’
The Afghanistan Cricket Board put up this post on X with the caption: ‘Unbelievable scenes in Jalalabad City!’ Photograph courtesy: Afghanistan Cricket Board
- “It is amazing that Afghanistan beat Bangladesh and entered the semifinals on exactly the same day (25 June in India) after an unfancied team had won the World Cup in 1983! This then is not only their story; this was our story being replayed.”
- “We are seeing something miraculous unfold, something which comes around only once in years. This Afghan team will widen interest in the game with their unpretentious performance. The real miracle is that we have been given a live example to uplift ourselves when we go through life’s trials.”
- “I went through Amazon to check for any book written on Afghan cricket. I found one but it was priced Rs 2,900. What a pity.”
- “It is a moment like this when India feels vindicated for all the support it provided to the Afghan team by proving it with their cricket infrastructure in Noida. So this win wasn’t just Afghanistan’s; it was India’s as well. It made me proud that my country had played a responsible role in graduating a country from one level to another.”
- “Afghanistan’s entry into the semi-finals tells you of what a team can achieve in two decades – despite never having played at home and never having won a title.”
(Clockwise from top left) Noor, Nabi, Gurbaz and Gulbadin Courtesy: Afghanistan Cricket Board / X
- “This is the best-looking (in the literal sense) side by a country mile. Noor will walk into any Vogue magazine. Nabi at 39 looks like a Greek God. Gurbaz and Gulbadin could walk into the next Kabir Khan movie on cricket - they have the looks and the acting! Now imagine if they just had an economy!”