On 1 May 2010, at exactly 9.30 am Saint Lucia time, I signed off on my 15 year loyalty to the Indian cricket team. Ever since I was introduced to cricket as a child while visiting my grandparents in Peshawar, I had followed Team India with undying passion. Ironically, my fondness for the team began at a time when they were anything but a powerhouse in the world of cricket. At the time, Pakistan was at the peak of its glory, the great Wasim Akram leading them to victory after victory. Yet there was something indefinable about Team India that immediately spoke to my heart. It was such a powerful attraction that, for the next decade and a half, I remained a faithful supporter.
And what years they were! For almost half that period, I had no idea what the majority of the players on Team India looked like, because I followed the broadcasts on a weak All India Radio signal, magically available in Kabul. When India played the 1999 World Cup in England I listened to the games late into the night. Sleeping in the same room as three of my siblings, I would pull the quilt over my head and hold the radio close to my ear, enjoying every minute of the commentary that switched between Hindi and English. Until 2001, the only pictures of players I ever saw were those printed in Pakistani newspapers that came to Kabul in tomato crates.
During my early years as a fan, Team India lost match after match. When, in 2003, they came close to winning the World Cup, they meekly submitted to Australia in the final. The paradox of Team India was always that it was a team full of superstars, yet not a superstar team. From a hardcore fan's point of view, this was incredibly frustrating. But despite the ups and downs (mostly the latter in those early years), I never gave up. In the recent past, of course, the picture has been different. The Indian team has emerged as a force in World Cricket, both on and off the field. Today it sits atop the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings. But I no longer support them. In fact, all these years I supported India because the participation in international cricket of my home country, Afghanistan, remained only a dream. On 1st May, however, that dream became reality.
Over the past two years, the rise of Afghanistan as a serious cricketing country has been akin to a fairytale. Within that time, the team has bulldozed its way through four divisions of ICC tournaments, and announced its arrival at the gates of cricketing powers such as India and South Africa. Their qualification for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup, and their acquisition of ODI (one-day international) status has brought them alongside the top countries in World Cricket – and this from a country that for long had no domestic circuit, cricketing ground of an international standard, or even salaries for players. The average Afghan sees a game of cricket, played with a taped tennis ball on a dirt pitch, as Friday morning recreation. The standard form of the game played in other countries – with pads, helmets and coaching staff – remains a rarity in today's Afghanistan. Indeed, considering this background, Afghan cricket has come so far on little more than talent, strength of will, and a bit of luck.