With the Afghan flag painted on one side of their faces and the Indian tri-colour on the other, a couple of engineering students from Lucknow University were making their way to the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Friday afternoon. Clad in identical Pathani suits, the guys were searching for Afghan flags outside the venue but unfortunately, none of the vendors had that.
After a little chat, they revealed that not only their dresses but their names are identical as well – Wakil Ahmad. Two childhood friends, from Kandahar, came to Lucknow a few years ago to pursue engineering and before passing out, they had an opportunity to watch their national cricket team playing the World Cup in India.
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Their faces reflected a palpable sense of happiness. After all, their team has been on a winning spree in the tournament and its next destination was Lucknow – City of Nawabs – where they were rooting for another victory, against The Netherlands, to inch closer to the semi-finals.
“Masha Allah, the World Cup this time is in India and the fans here are in large numbers. The team will get more love this time. We are extremely happy because the performance of our team has been very good,” told one of the Wakils to Cricketnext.
He was happier with the way Afghanistan stunned Pakistan to gain momentum in the tournament. And now, they wanted their team to make a top-four finish.
Rahmat & Hashmat – The History Makers of Afghanistan
“Pakistan ke khilaf achha match ho gaya. Bas wo jeet gaye ab bas semi-final pahuchna hai. Humara bas yahi target hai (It was a great game against Pakistan. We beat them and now, the target is the semi-finals),” Wakil said with a big smile on his face.
Why defeating Pakistan is so satisfying?
More than a win on the cricket field, defeating Pakistan was like conquering a war for the Afghanis who are away from home. They have been coming across news and videos of the refugees who are being forced to leave Pakistan.
According to Reuters, 1,28,000 Afghans had left through the Torkham crossing since the Pakistani government’s order. Some are also crossing through Chaman, in Balochistan. Pakistan’s economy is in tatters, and the government says undocumented migrants who don’t pay taxes are a burden to its scarce resources.
While the Pakistan government remains firm on its decision, the returning migrants have an uncertain future ahead of them, especially when the nation is struggling with a collapsed economy, devastating earthquakes, food scarcity, and human rights violations under the Taliban regime.
Shahidi dedicates win against the Dutch to Afghan refugees
It’s not a hidden fact how connected the Afghanistan players are to their homeland. The suffering of the refugees is something that has deeply hurt the team competing in the World Cup and hence, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi dedicated the 7-wicket win over the Netherlands in Lucknow to those who are being forced out of Pakistan.
“We all are very united, we all are enjoying the wins and all of them are thinking about the team. We are trying our best to make it to the semi-finals. If we make it, it would be a big achievement for us. I lost my mother three months back, so my family is in pain, so it will be a big achievement for our country first and then for me also,” Shahidi said at the post-match presentation.
“I would like to give a message – there are a lot of our refugee people in struggle, we all are watching their videos and we feel their pain. I dedicate this win to them,” he added.
Sending happiness to people back home
After defeating Pakistan by 8 wickets in Chennai, opening batter Ibrahim Zadran dedicated his Player of the Match award to the refugees struggling in Pakistan. On Friday when the team celebrated their third win in a row in the ongoing World Cup, Zadran said it’s all about sending happiness to people back home.
“Yeah, we are playing so good so far in the tournament. We won three matches in a row and we are going to win against Australia as well. I got the Player of the Match against Pakistan which gave me a lot of confidence. However, I didn’t get too many runs in the last two games and I’m looking forward to scoring better in the next two,” Zadran said after the match on Friday.
“We always try to give happiness to the people of Afghanistan, whenever or wherever we play,” he added.
Players aligned with what’s going on back home
Head coach Jonathan Trott is a foreigner in the Afghan camp but he understands his players’ attachment to their roots. People in Afghanistan have been leading a challenging life with uncountable ups and downs and the cricketers are trying their best to bring smiles to their faces with impressive performances far from home. And according to Trott, that’s the beauty of sport.
“I think the players are attuned with everything that’s going on back home, whether it’s an earthquake and other things. So they realize, and I think they’re enjoying the joy that they’re giving to the Afghan people and the smile that they currently have on their faces in the changing room, but also the smiles that are giving everybody else. That’s the great thing about sport and being able to touch people in far further afield than just here in the stadium or in this country, but back home as well,” Trott said in the post-match presser.
Endless love and support from the fans
Wherever the Afghans have visited this World Cup, they have been showered with love. The same was the scenario in Lucknow when a bunch of Afghan fans cheered for them and hurled the national flags all the time.
Upsetting England was an achievement but mauling Pakistan sensationalized Afghanistan’s campaign, fueling them up with a zeal to never give up.
“We won against England but the victory against Pakistan gave us a huge momentum. You see we beat Sri Lanka after that and today, the Netherlands. So, I think that [beating Pakistan in Chennai] was a game-changer and now we look forward to defeating Australia,” Zadran concluded.
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