What has been the reason behind the rapid rise of Afghanistan in world cricket?

[Zakaz]

As we all know how rapidly afghanistan cricket has evolved over the last decade. If their performances at the recent asia cup and u19 world cup are anything to go by, they are going to be a force to reckon with in near future. What have been the factors contributing to afghanistans such a rapid rise over such a short period of time?

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Support from BCCI?

 

[Zakaz]

Support from BCCI?

Surely have to be greater factors than that, for eg. Can BCCI alone turn Nepal into the next Afghanistan? making nepal compete against top asian nations like afghanistan does?

 

[the_outsider]

Surely have to be greater factors than that, for eg. Can BCCI alone turn Nepal into the next Afghanistan? making nepal compete against top asian nations like afghanistan does?

Actually, yes. Even in 2015, Nepal was nowhere near where it is today. Since 2016, after BCCI got involved with Nepal cricket, even they have improved a lot.

The rise of Afghan cricket also is partially due to the BCCI's assistance.

You have to understand that professional sports depends a lot on capital investment, infrastructure and a proper system at the grassroots level. BCCI has all of that. It's a multi-billion dollar industry. It's not a coincidence that Indian cricket has risen to much since the IPL. Money matters when it comes to professional sports. Look at the Olympic record for superpowers like USA and China and compare them to poorer nations. It's a very clear connection that's there for everybody to see.

 

[Zakaz]

Actually, yes. Even in 2015, Nepal was nowhere near where it is today. Since 2016, after BCCI got involved with Nepal cricket, even they have improved a lot.

The rise of Afghan cricket also is partially due to the BCCI's assistance.

You have to understand that professional sports depends a lot on capital investment, infrastructure and a proper system at the grassroots level. BCCI has all of that. It's a multi-billion dollar industry. It's not a coincidence that Indian cricket has risen to much since the IPL. Money matters when it comes to professional sports. Look at the Olympic record for superpowers like USA and China and compare them to poorer nations. It's a very clear connection that's there for everybody to see.

If money is literally all that matters than shouldn't you guys be absolutely dominating world cricket as you make like 80% of cricket revenue, instead you just got thrashed in england 4-1 in test series where west indies won a test match and we drew the series, twice, only recently, with all our finacial struggles.

 

[the_outsider]

If money is literally all that matters than shouldn't you guys be absolutely dominating world cricket as you make like 80% of cricket revenue, instead you just got thrashed in england 4-1 in test series where west indies won a test match and we drew the series, twice, only recently, with all our finacial struggles.

I didn't say money is all that matters. No need to put words in my mouth.

But it makes a huge difference in professional sports. The proof is in the pudding. Pick out any professional sports and see who are dominating and and what kind of investment that sport has in that country.

It doesn't mean that the "richer" nations are never going to lose or perform poorly.

 

[BDfanforever]

^money has something to do with it, but its more about the culture really which plays a big part.

a lot of the South American countries are not rich, but they have the best football players in the world.

 

[the_outsider]

^money has something to do with it, but its more about the culture really which plays a big part.

a lot of the South American countries are not rich, but they have the best football players in the world.

Definitely. Culture, historical context, etc all of them play their roles.

But even in South America, look at which country dominates football - Brazil, the 9th largest economy in the world and by far the richest country of the continent!

In today's day and age, to take a sports to the next level, you need monetary investment.

 

[Major]

It has got nothing to do with India.

Afghanistan cricket was always improving. Even back in 2012 it just needed more practise matches against top teams, and then later on the discovery of the two spinners.
Raees Ahamadzai found Rashid Khan

Mind you, guys like Mohammad Nabi and SHiwnari have got 20 years experience now

Afghanistan had nothing to look up to, thus when Nowroz Mangal and his boys were winning cups in world cricekt league, Afghanistan was winning something and this really made the nation happy and inspired these kids.

BCCI came to help very later on in 2015, and by that time Afghanistan had gather their assets, the only thing they needed was more match practise which they are getting.

 

[Rana]

Mental strength and belief.

 

[captain.hansolo]

If money is literally all that matters than shouldn't you guys be absolutely dominating world cricket as you make like 80% of cricket revenue, instead you just got thrashed in england 4-1 in test series where west indies won a test match and we drew the series, twice, only recently, with all our finacial struggles.

we are dominating global cricket mate.

there are other nations that invest significantly into the sport as well and those are the only nations that are competitive with us such as england, australia and south africa.

 

[RyanRyan10]

Actually, yes. Even in 2015, Nepal was nowhere near where it is today. Since 2016, after BCCI got involved with Nepal cricket, even they have improved a lot.

The rise of Afghan cricket also is partially due to the BCCI's assistance.

You have to understand that professional sports depends a lot on capital investment, infrastructure and a proper system at the grassroots level. BCCI has all of that. It's a multi-billion dollar industry. It's not a coincidence that Indian cricket has risen to much since the IPL. Money matters when it comes to professional sports. Look at the Olympic record for superpowers like USA and China and compare them to poorer nations. It's a very clear connection that's there for everybody to see.

Nepal have been always around the same level since last 15 years or so
It's because of their unprofessional board that they haven't got a FM status yet.

I agree with rest of your points

 

[Executioner]

Don't compare Nepal with Afghanistan. Nepal are very far behind.

Nepal haven't really improved

 

[RyanRyan10]

A lot of their players played club cricket in Pakistan so they had the experience
That helped them to get among top associates

Then the rise of Rashid Khan acted as a catalyst in their progress and they surpassed the top associates,Ireland and Zimbabwe.

If Rashid & Mujeeb can be nullified then they would still struggle against Ireland & the top associates

Like in the World Cup qualifiers,
Hong Kong,Scotland & Zimbabwe beat them where Rashid & Mujeeb failed to create an impact.

 

[Executioner]

A lot of their players played club cricket in Pakistan so they had the experience
That helped them to get among top associates

Then the rise of Rashid Khan acted as a catalyst in their progress and they surpassed the top associates,Ireland and Zimbabwe.

If Rashid & Mujeeb can be nullified then they would still struggle against Ireland & the top associates

Like in the World Cup qualifiers,
Hong Kong,Scotland & Zimbabwe beat them where Rashid & Mujeeb failed to create an impact.

Same happened with BD too in second round. Neither mujeeb not Rashid pose a serious threat to us and we scored 250 even despite being 87-5.

In the matches before, we had no real plan against these 2.

Same happened with Fizz. His cutter no longer novelty. However fizz still has other skills

 

[Bhaijaan]

Rashid Khan.

Take him out of the equation and Afghanistan are very ordinary team.

Secondly shifting base to India has helped bring their true potential out.

 

[thelandofthebravepeople]

It comes down to
-Geographical Location
-Hard Work
-Luck
-Pride

 

[Badsha]

I am not sure if it will he sustained.

People don’t realize most of these cricketers were raised in Peshawar. Even their style of Pashto is Pakistani. A lot of them are from Logar province (99 percent).

Cricket is doing well there but my fear is this will be like Kenyan cricket . A good generation of players that won’t last reason being rest of Afghan don’t care much about cricket

 

[thelandofthebravepeople]

I am not sure if it will he sustained.

People don’t realize most of these cricketers were raised in Peshawar. Even their style of Pashto is Pakistani. A lot of them are from Logar province (99 percent).

Cricket is doing well there but my fear is this will be like Kenyan cricket . A good generation of players that won’t last reason being rest of Afghan don’t care much about cricket

There is always risk of not being able to replace star players - Just look at how SL has struggled in past 3-4 years.

But let's take a look at Afghanistan team in asia cup.

1. Mohammad Shahzad - first generation
2. Ihsanullah - second generation
3. Rehmat Shah - second Generation
4. Hashmatullah - second Generation
5. Asghar - first Generation
6. Nabi- first generation
7. Najibullah - second generation
8. Gulbodin - first generation
9. Rashid Khan - second generation
10. Aftab Alam - second generation
11. Mujeeb - second generation

7/10 players are second generation. Meaning result of Afghanistan domestic cricket.

Remember winning u.19 Asia cup. Semifinal in u.19 WC. in 2017/18.

+ the Afghanistan Premier League is starting which will expose bench players/upcoming talent to some world class players which will help them improve.

I think Afghanistan will produce even better players.

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

Passion and commitment.

 

[RyanRyan10]

I am not sure if it will he sustained.

People don’t realize most of these cricketers were raised in Peshawar. Even their style of Pashto is Pakistani. A lot of them are from Logar province (99 percent).

Cricket is doing well there but my fear is this will be like Kenyan cricket . A good generation of players that won’t last reason being rest of Afghan don’t care much about cricket

They are in subcontinent so they would always get opportunity to play against top sides

Kenya's problem was that they invested everything on their national team and nothing at the grass root level,they had expected that ICC would reward them test status soon.

But unfortunately ICC didn't reward them test status.

Afghanistan Cricket Board is investing at grass root level
They have a FC tournament,their u-19 cricket team is also getting a lot of exposure
They get to play top teams regularly
And now they are going to start their own t20 league so I don't think they would go Kenya's way

They might struggle to break into top4/5 but would always make a cut into World Cup for atleast next 15 years.

 

[Zakaz]

it would be fun watching afghanistan thrashing india sometime soon

 

[Donal Cozzie]

There are several reasons, however the brief summary of it is that massive credit must go to the ACB, the ICC, the PCB, BCCI, German, Swedish and US Governments (others too I'm sure).

The ACB have done an outstanding job at capitalising on the opportunities they got. In no time at all they established a proper FC set-up, a t20 league etc etc to ensure that a domestic system got up and running and the local players got to play and play regularly. They have constructed stadia in several locations, have a new high quality office and all done in the midst of a war.

There are cultural aspects as well, the development of many guys from Pakistani refugee camps is well known but Afghanistan was always ripe for becoming a cricketing power due to its location and similarities to its neighbours. From an economic standpoint they benefit hugely as well from Afghanistans overall chaotic situation. The ACB and Ireland receive the same level of funding yet the latter can hire perhaps 20 (maximum) full time cricketers whereas the ACB have over 200 individuals in the country for whom cricket is their sole job and income source, not to mention the others who play in their spare time. A dollar in Afghanistan in ICC funding goes a long way further than it does in nearly all other cricket nations.

The PCB to their credit fostered cricket in Afghanistan in their early days too. Letting them play in Pakistan and arranging the odd match. In recent years the BCCI have stepped up and become a powerful ally, allowing them to play and train in Noida instead of the UAE.

Last but not least, as I alluded to earlier, the Afghan Cricket Board receive millions of dollars annually from Sweden, Germany, the US and elsewhere which is then used to further grow the game with the construction of stadia and facilities in the country as these parties identify cricket as a massive potential tool in the country which it clearly is. Where people have jobs and people have hope people are happy, and in a country that is currently wartorn cricket has been identified as a potential unifier and a place where Afghanistan can be on the global stage for positive reasons.

To summarise it

1) The country was always ripe for cricketing growth in terms of popularity, climate, economics, natural ability.

2) The ACB have managed their resources well and actually implemented planning for the future with regular games for their A, u19 sides.

3) The ACB receive shedloads of money (by Afghan standards) which allows cricket to easily sit atop the pile of local sports and even job opportunities in some ways.

4) The ICC, PCB, BCCI and others have stepped up to provide support.

The thing is the benchmark has been set and there is absolutely zero reason why other nations such as Nepal couldnt enjoy similar rises. In 10 years with proper management Nepal could be another Full Member, and to those who laugh at that statement remember, Afghanistan were playing Japan in 2007, now they nearly won the Asia Cup. In the right conditions sporting prowess can emerge rapidly.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Grit and determination.

 

[happydavy]

Definitely. Culture, historical context, etc all of them play their roles.

But even in South America, look at which country dominates football - Brazil, the 9th largest economy in the world and by far the richest country of the continent!

In today's day and age, to take a sports to the next level, you need monetary investment.

Sorry boss, ur theory of linking gdp with cricketing success is flawed. If gdp was the criteria then shouldn't India win a lot of Olympic medals? Sports has a far stronger cultural context than economy.

And if at all you want to link economy, then GDP per capita makes more sense as it would mean that the citizens of the country have access to better facilities, nutrition and initial training. That's because each citizen has more money in his/her hand to invest in sports training, gdp figure alone doesn't indicate affordability. And if you look at South America gdp per capita then Chile is on top, and Brazil lies much later after countries like Uruguay, Argentina etc.

 

[javier]

There are several reasons, however the brief summary of it is that massive credit must go to the ACB, the ICC, the PCB, BCCI, German, Swedish and US Governments (others too I'm sure).

The ACB have done an outstanding job at capitalising on the opportunities they got. In no time at all they established a proper FC set-up, a t20 league etc etc to ensure that a domestic system got up and running and the local players got to play and play regularly. They have constructed stadia in several locations, have a new high quality office and all done in the midst of a war.

There are cultural aspects as well, the development of many guys from Pakistani refugee camps is well known but Afghanistan was always ripe for becoming a cricketing power due to its location and similarities to its neighbours. From an economic standpoint they benefit hugely as well from Afghanistans overall chaotic situation. The ACB and Ireland receive the same level of funding yet the latter can hire perhaps 20 (maximum) full time cricketers whereas the ACB have over 200 individuals in the country for whom cricket is their sole job and income source, not to mention the others who play in their spare time. A dollar in Afghanistan in ICC funding goes a long way further than it does in nearly all other cricket nations.

The PCB to their credit fostered cricket in Afghanistan in their early days too. Letting them play in Pakistan and arranging the odd match. In recent years the BCCI have stepped up and become a powerful ally, allowing them to play and train in Noida instead of the UAE.

Last but not least, as I alluded to earlier, the Afghan Cricket Board receive millions of dollars annually from Sweden, Germany, the US and elsewhere which is then used to further grow the game with the construction of stadia and facilities in the country as these parties identify cricket as a massive potential tool in the country which it clearly is. Where people have jobs and people have hope people are happy, and in a country that is currently wartorn cricket has been identified as a potential unifier and a place where Afghanistan can be on the global stage for positive reasons.

To summarise it

1) The country was always ripe for cricketing growth in terms of popularity, climate, economics, natural ability.

2) The ACB have managed their resources well and actually implemented planning for the future with regular games for their A, u19 sides.

3) The ACB receive shedloads of money (by Afghan standards) which allows cricket to easily sit atop the pile of local sports and even job opportunities in some ways.

4) The ICC, PCB, BCCI and others have stepped up to provide support.

The thing is the benchmark has been set and there is absolutely zero reason why other nations such as Nepal couldnt enjoy similar rises. In 10 years with proper management Nepal could be another Full Member, and to those who laugh at that statement remember, Afghanistan were playing Japan in 2007, now they nearly won the Asia Cup. In the right conditions sporting prowess can emerge rapidly.

Any chance of Ireland progressing to the same level of Afghanistan where they beat Test Sides on a regular basis in LOI's?

Ireland is a first World Nation and their governemet alone can fund the sport at grassroot levels and first class competitions.

 

[MenInG]

There is an urdu/punjabi term called "rajay huay"

Basically that means that when you have everything in the world, your will to do better is diminished.

Afghanistan is a nation ravaged with all sorts of problems, and therefore its people (and cricketers) have a huge desire to improve themselves in more ways than one.

They have a hunger to get somewhere and we see that in their cricketers.

 

[cricketindiafan]

Same happened with BD too in second round. Neither mujeeb not Rashid pose a serious threat to us and we scored 250 even despite being 87-5.

In the matches before, we had no real plan against these 2.

Same happened with Fizz. His cutter no longer novelty. However fizz still has other skills

You got blanked 0-3 in most recent T20s, Rashid Khan was taking bucketloads of wickets for fun, think he picked 9-10 wickets at the average of 6 or 7!

You also got thrashed by 135 runs in the league match with Rashid and Mujeeb totally dominating. You barely scraped through in the super 4 but not that Rashid and Mujeeb got thrashed.

Invite Afg for a full series and prepare the usual turners to see how well you can play Rashid and Mujeeb

 

[Adil_94]

Great Post Cozzie.

 

[the_outsider]

Sorry boss, ur theory of linking gdp with cricketing success is flawed. If gdp was the criteria then shouldn't India win a lot of Olympic medals? Sports has a far stronger cultural context than economy.

And if at all you want to link economy, then GDP per capita makes more sense as it would mean that the citizens of the country have access to better facilities, nutrition and initial training. That's because each citizen has more money in his/her hand to invest in sports training, gdp figure alone doesn't indicate affordability. And if you look at South America gdp per capita then Chile is on top, and Brazil lies much later after countries like Uruguay, Argentina etc.

Two things:

1. Olympic sports in India is severly underfunded. All olympic sports in India is almost exculsively publicly funded. In contrast, olympic sports in the USA is almost entirely privately funded. Which is why there is far more investment made. You can see the same in India. It is not a coincidence that the largest sport in India is run by a private organization. I wrote in my earlier posts that monetary in the investments in the particular sports leads to accelerated development. That does not mean that every sport in richer countries get equal funding.

2. GDP per capita does not make more sense at all. Because the funding for infrastructe and other investments aren't being made by the public. Those are being done by the top 10% of the population who have the capital to invest. GDP per capita is only relevant from a consumer point-of-view. That is, what is the purchasing power of the cricket audience in India - how much can they spend on tickets, merch, TV subscriptions, etc.

 

[Muhammad8279]

All maters is "Spirit" they want to beat the opponent therefore there body language is positive. There performance will be high till they have this spirit.

 

[captain.hansolo]

Sorry boss, ur theory of linking gdp with cricketing success is flawed. If gdp was the criteria then shouldn't India win a lot of Olympic medals? Sports has a far stronger cultural context than economy.

And if at all you want to link economy, then GDP per capita makes more sense as it would mean that the citizens of the country have access to better facilities, nutrition and initial training. That's because each citizen has more money in his/her hand to invest in sports training, gdp figure alone doesn't indicate affordability. And if you look at South America gdp per capita then Chile is on top, and Brazil lies much later after countries like Uruguay, Argentina etc.

india has absolutely no infrastructure for varsity or non-team sports. we have limited scholarships, virtually no athletes have sponsorships and there is little incentive to pursue a career as a track and field athlete.

the few individual sports where we have won medals such as marksmanship have benefited from self funded individuals.

yes we have the money but we have not spent it on anything outside of cricket and a bit on football.

 

[Itachi]

There is an urdu/punjabi term called "rajay huay"

Basically that means that when you have everything in the world, your will to do better is diminished.

Afghanistan is a nation ravaged with all sorts of problems, and therefore its people (and cricketers) have a huge desire to improve themselves in more ways than one.

They have a hunger to get somewhere and we see that in their cricketers.

That's a misunderstood philosophy. That's the pessimistic view.

The optimistic one is, when you have everything in the world, you start to venture unknown.

For example, there are many legendary musicians who after attaining topmost position in the business went back to basics and tried to find music notes from nature which are out of bound from the existing setup.

Its how you perceive it.

 

[Cric_lover4487]

Surely have to be greater factors than that, for eg. Can BCCI alone turn Nepal into the next Afghanistan? making nepal compete against top asian nations like afghanistan does?

To be honest i would prefer Nepal over Hong Kong playing Asia cup anyday. Nepal team consists of ethnic Nepali players. They bring something new to the world of cricket. The local population of Nepal loves cricket. Now, since Afghanistan are self sufficient, maybe, BCCI should train Nepal players in India. I personally find it cringeworthy to watch UAE, Hong Kong etc are full of mediocre expat desi players.

 

[rhony]

Surely has to do with the spirit of this team. They know their strengths and weaknesses very well. They always play within themselves and always strive for consistency. Having a gun spinner doesn't hurt either. To be honest, they remind me of that old Pakistani never say die spirit in the 90s with more consistency.

 

[rhony]

Sorry boss, ur theory of linking gdp with cricketing success is flawed. If gdp was the criteria then shouldn't India win a lot of Olympic medals? Sports has a far stronger cultural context than economy.

And if at all you want to link economy, then GDP per capita makes more sense as it would mean that the citizens of the country have access to better facilities, nutrition and initial training. That's because each citizen has more money in his/her hand to invest in sports training, gdp figure alone doesn't indicate affordability. And if you look at South America gdp per capita then Chile is on top, and Brazil lies much later after countries like Uruguay, Argentina etc.

You forget that there is a transition period. India were horrible and even embarrassing in sports not too long ago. With better economy, they have funding and corporate sponsorships now. You see Indians competing in many sports and are close to medal worthy performances. It takes time for the medals and I believe in 8 to 12 years, India will be capable of atleast 20 gold medals. They are very competitive in wrestling, boxing, badminton, shooting already and are slowly getting into track and field.

 

[Shutdown Corner]

You got blanked 0-3 in most recent T20s, Rashid Khan was taking bucketloads of wickets for fun, think he picked 9-10 wickets at the average of 6 or 7!

You also got thrashed by 135 runs in the league match with Rashid and Mujeeb totally dominating. You barely scraped through in the super 4 but not that Rashid and Mujeeb got thrashed.

Invite Afg for a full series and prepare the usual turners to see how well you can play Rashid and Mujeeb

T20s arent real cricket. If it was Afghans would have blanked us again like they would have if this was a T20 Asia Cup.

Talking about the wrong format from 4 months ago is worse than BD fans using the 2007 world cup to argue that BD are favorites to beat India in 2019. At least the formats are the same.

 

[moghul]

There is an urdu/punjabi term called "rajay huay"

Basically that means that when you have everything in the world, your will to do better is diminished.

Afghanistan is a nation ravaged with all sorts of problems, and therefore its people (and cricketers) have a huge desire to improve themselves in more ways than one.

They have a hunger to get somewhere and we see that in their cricketers.

Exactly, that makes them mentally strong, after been through so many hardships in their lives. Also genetically they are physically strong. another plus.

 

[Zakaz]

I think good genes and mental strength due to their life experience in Afghanistan plays a strong role too

 

[rhony]

T20s arent real cricket. If it was Afghans would have blanked us again like they would have if this was a T20 Asia Cup.

Talking about the wrong format from 4 months ago is worse than BD fans using the 2007 world cup to argue that BD are favorites to beat India in 2019. At least the formats are the same.

It's a tale of two BD teams. One that plays in tournaments and the other in bilaterals. In the last few years, BD has been a consistent tournament team. However, they have regressed in bilaterals after their stellar year where they beat India, Pakistan and South Africa at home. Bilaterals are where teams try combinations and hone their strategies for the next big ICC tournament. For some reason, there seems to be very inconsistent play and even sub par at times by BD in these series. I believe that's why BD doesn't get the respect they deserve and their tournament runs are some what considered "luck" or "fluke" by many.

 

[cricketindiafan]

T20s arent real cricket. If it was Afghans would have blanked us again like they would have if this was a T20 Asia Cup.

Talking about the wrong format from 4 months ago is worse than BD fans using the 2007 world cup to argue that BD are favorites to beat India in 2019. At least the formats are the same.

Well T20s stopped being real cricket since that Afghanwash. If it was not real cricket, you will not be sending your best teams to each of those T20 series and tournaments.

Fact remains that Rashid on his own smashed you in that T20 series and if he gets a full ODI series now, will likely have a similar performance.