Afghanistan’s cricketers want to change your perception of their country.
Afghan captain Mohammad Nabi says the World Cup holds bigger meaning for his nation than just a cricket tournament.
“Everywhere there is fighting in the news,” Nabi told reporters on Saturday.
“If there is positive news like the cricket players of Afghanistan in the World Cup, it totally changes the minds back home and also in the world as well.
“The meaning for the country to play in the 50-over World Cup is a big opportunity for cricket and also for the nation. To mention Afghanistan’s name in the World Cup is a big opportunity.”
Nabi was born and raised in a refugee camp on the Pakistan border after his parents fled during Afghanistan’s war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
Aged 10, he fell in love with cricket in games with local children which brought some happiness in a harsh camp environment – living in a tent with scarce food and no clean water.
The games with frayed tennis balls honed his skills, which were noticed by Peshawar cricket officials who offered him formal training at a local academy.
A stylish batsmen and handy offspinner, Nabi toured India with the academy and scored a century against a visiting MCC side, catching the eye of former England captain Mike Gatting.
Nabi was then invited to spend three months at Lord’s in 2007 as part of the young player program run by the MCC.
As his family’s lifestyle also gradually improved – into housing in Peshawar before a move back to his parents’ native Afghanistan – Nabi made his first-class debut for the MCC in a match against a Sri Lanka A side in 2007.
Two years later, Nabi featured in Afghanistan’s first one-day international – batting at number three, he made 58 in a win against Scotland in a World Cup qualifier.
Nabi, a veteran of 45 one-day internationals, was appointed Afghanistan’s captain in the only sport approved by the Taliban – cricket is also supported by Afghanistan’s opposing political factions.
But troubles remained close: in May 2013, Nabi’s father was kidnapped and held with a $2 million ransom. He was released two months later with no deal brokered, authorities said.
At the time, Nabi said the kidnappers were “local goons, no political connections”.
Now, Nabi sits in a plush Adelaide hotel eagerly awaiting Afghanistan’s World Cup opener against Bangladesh in Canberra on February 18.
“For Afghanistan … to play the 50-over World Cup is our dream,” Nabi said.
“Inshallah, we try our best to play very well … hopefully we go to the second round as well.
“This is our main plan, to go to the second round. If we beat Bangladesh in the first match, then we hope.”
