Demotix image ID: 4058137 [1]. Afghan cricket fans wave flags during the match against Bangladesh in Asia Cup 2014 at Khan Saheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, Narayanganj. Image by md Manik.
Despite a stark lack of funds and facilities, cricket's popularity at home is peaking, providing a tool to unify the country.
The 2015 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup consists [5]of 14 teams including Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, West Indies, and Zimbabwe.
[6]Afghan national cricket team with President Ghani. Image taken from Afghanistan Cricket Board's Facebook page.
Thousands of Afghans took [7] to the streets to celebrate their team's victory over Nepal in a qualifying round. The game is not new to the republic, which shares borders with cricket-mad Pakistan and India, but during decades of war, sports took a back seat.
This was especially the case under the Taliban, who famously banned football [8] and used the national stadium for public executions. Cricket was one of the few non-violent physical activities the radical regime favoured [9], but little was done to develop the sport.
On Twitter, Bilal Sarwary shared an image of people in the country playing their favourite sport:
#AFG [10] Impressive : Growing popularity of cricket in Afghanistan. Courtesy Mohmmad Nabi. pic.twitter.com/yFrS0gyJre [11]
— Bilal Sarwary (@bsarwary) June 8, 2014 [12]
Shaista Sadat Lameh, an Afghan journalist, wished the team success:
خپل تیم ته د بریالیتوب په لوړو کې د آسمان هیله کوم! د افغانستان د کرکت ملي تیم نن آسترالیا ته سفر وکړ! #Afghanistan [13] pic.twitter.com/nZvwimEGD2 [14]
— Shaista Sadat Lameh (@ShaistaLameh) January 30, 2015 [15]
I wish success to my team! Today, Afghan national cricket team left for Australia
And a well-to-do businessman apparently announced a reward for the first Afghan batsman to make a century in their first game:
Abdul Yasini , an Afghan announced 15,000$ reward for any cricket player who make 100 runs against Bangladesh in… http://t.co/PSkNp0XD0L [16]
— Wais Barakzai (@WaisBarakzai) February 2, 2015 [17]
مدثر اسلامی concluded that the days of proxy-supporting were over, now the country had a team it could be proud of:
Those days are gone when we used to cheer for #Pakistan [18] against India in cricket. Today, we are excited for our #Afghan [19] team. Good luck Afg!
— مدثر اسلامي (@mmodaser) February 10, 2015 [20]
Despite losing [21] a warm-up match against India, the Afghans secured victories against both Ireland and Scotland as they prepared for the tournament. Those wins have led to a surge of optimism ahead of their first Cricket World Cup fixture against Bangladesh. But for many ordinary Afghans, after years of watching international sporting tournaments from a distance, it is being there that is most important of all.