Reasons Behind the Phenomenal Growth of Afghanistan Cricket

The Afghanistan team has shown significant growth in the last few years. One of the key highlights of the 2023 World Cup was the Afghanistan team conquered Pakistan and England. Recently, they registered their most memorable victory against Australia and made it into the semi-final of the recent T20 World Cup 2024. The ODI series win against South Africa and Bangladesh has established them as one of the favorites to win a match or series.

From Asia, they are also one of the most difficult sides to beat in both the white ball formats. They are just one win away against India from officially going into the league of winning at least a match against every full-member test-playing nation. They already showed their potential to achieve that accomplishment by pushing the 3rd T20I match into double super-overs against India in January 2024.

Let us look at some impressive reasons behind the recent rise of Afghanistan Cricket:

Jonathan Trott as Head Coach

One of the former greats of the England team, Jonathan Trott, has brought balance to the side. His experience of building the innings at the top of the order can be seen in how the Afghanistan players now progress their innings and build partnerships. Gurbaz, a talented youngster, has seen incredible growth in batting and plays sensible yet aggressive cricket nowadays. This change has helped him score more consistently. 

Backing the Right Players

Another reason for their growth is team management’s investment and backing of the right players. The Afghanistan Cricket Board has taken good care of its players and provided them adequate time to groom and mature themselves into match winners. Every youngster, from Gurbaz to Noor, has their talents taken care of and given the right amount of practice and matches to turn into match winners. 

Support from Various Cricket Boards

Everyone knows about the BCCI’s support of the Afghanistan team in every way possible. The Cricket Board of India has provided them with a home ground that gets them match-ready for the series and ICC tournaments. The help of the BCCI saw an increase in the number of Afghan players in the IPL. All those players come as mystery and charismatic players and leave a mark in the tournament.

UAE deserves much credit for giving a platform to the Afghanistan team. Established as the second home ground for the Afghan team, the UAE signed a 5-year pact with the team for their home matches. The variety of pitches in the UAE surely helped the Afghanistan team prepare well for the conditions and become a threatening team in the tournament. Home to various tournaments and leagues, the UAE’s contribution to the rise of the Afghanistan team should not go unnoticed. The home matches of the Afghanistan team in the UAE gave platforms to many youngsters to come to the scene and grab the opportunities with both hands. The youngsters would love to keep contributing to the team’s growth and make it a force to deal with.

Boost in the Exposure of Various Conditions

Afghanistan Cricketers invest a lot of their time by participating in different leagues throughout the year. Different leagues come up with a variety of pitch conditions where a player gets an opportunity to develop more skills rather than playing on a couple of pitches. Spending time with experienced coaches and players around the world helps a player work on his weaknesses and get an opportunity to play in different match situations.

World Cup 2023 Campaign 

Afghanistan had a better ICC World Cup tournament than England and Pakistan which is enough to summarise their campaign. Overcoming the tag of underdogs, the Afghanistan team has established themselves now as a proper threat to all big teams after their recent win against South Africa. With new-generation players playing fearless and positive cricket, it is likely that the Afghanistan cricket team will feature more often in the ICC knockouts in the next few years and may even win the tournament. 

They also picked Ajay Jadeja as a mentor for the World Cup. One of the former greats of India, Jadeja, provided the Afghanistan team with the necessary inputs to capitalize on the conditions and outplay many other teams. Jadeja as a mentor was a smart pick by the ACB which shows how passionately they are involved in improving the team and their playing standards.

Unbelievable T20 World Cup 2024

If the ODI World Cup 2023 was a glimpse of what Afghanistan can do on the bigger stage, the T20 World Cup 2024 was a stamp of authority on world cricket. The Afghan team performed incredibly well in the World Cup, beating New Zealand, Australia, and at last Bangladesh to seal a berth in the semi-finals. Their years of hard work paid off well, and every match was a treat to the fans and players.

Jonathan Trott, a former English player as their head coach, deserves much praise for his immense contribution to the team. His ideas and belief in the players did wonders for the team, and they caused massive upsets in the World Cup. The Afghan team would like to continue this performance in the tournament to come.

What’s Next for Afghanistan Team

Having proved themselves on the big stage, the Afghanistan cricket board will be looking forward to the Champions Trophy hoping to get their hands on the trophy. Familiar with Asian conditions, Afghanistan is likely to be a threat to many test-playing nations. The recent win won’t go unnoticed by all the cricketing boards and they will prepare themselves to get the win over the Afghanistan team. On the other hand, Afghanistan will look to continue its superb performances in ICC tournaments in the last few months.