The Afghanistan cricket team is all set to play a one-off Test against New Zealand from September 9-13 in Greater Noida. The Afghan side started their one-week preparatory camp at the Noida Sports Complex, but according to a report by The Indian Express, the start of their practice was far from ideal. Heavy rain in the Delhi NCR on Thursday meant that the Afghans had a hard time in training properly. 

The report said that the practice pitch was flooded and the ground staff used two table fans to dry the ground. The report further mentioned that there are no super-soppers or covers to protect the 30-yard circle. In fact, Afghanistan bowling coach Hamid Hasan had trouble finding a 10-yard spot with less dampness.

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi took a sly dig at the facilities. “Boys, we should have brought our swim gear. No way we are going to play here. Good place to swim,” Shahidi was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. 

The captain then told the officials and said in Hindi: “Sir hum logo ko aadat hai, but New Zealand waalon ko kya jawaab doge (We have trained in much poorer conditions, but what would you say to the New Zealand team management.”

Meanwhile, Afghanistan cricket’s poster boy Rashid Khan will not play the Test format in the near future to nurse his back after having undergone a surgery last year. A source in the Afghanistan Cricket Board told PTI that Rashid and the team management had decided mutually on his break from the longest format considering his back issues.

Earlier this week, he was not named in the preliminary squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand in Greater Noida on September 9.

Rashid was out of action for four months after undergoing back surgery following the ODI World Cup in India in October-November. He was part of the more recent T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean where he captained Afghanistan to the semifinals.

The 25-year-old recently played three games in as many days in the Shpageeza T20 league in Kabul, taking six wickets in total.

“The plan for Rashid after the surgery was to gradually increase his workload. Not playing the longer format for the next six months to one year was also part of the plan.

“In Tests, he would be required to keep bowling from one end and his back is not ready for that kind of workload. He should be available for the ODI series against South Africa next month,” the source said.

Rashid has played five Tests, 103 ODIs, and 93 T20Is for Afghanistan, who hardly get to play the five-day game against top teams like New Zealand.

All-rounder Rashid Khan is a notable omission in Afghanistan’s 20-member preliminary squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand, to be played in Greater Noida next month. Rashid’s absence from the September 9-13 contest comes as a surprise as he has been Afghanistan’s highest wicket-taker in the format, having taken 34 wickets in five Tests at an average of 22.35, including four fifers. He played his last Test for Afghanistan in 2021 against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi, where he took 11 wickets.

Besides, Rashid is also a handy batter and has a half-century to his name in Tests.

The other notable omissions in the side, led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, are Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Karim Janat, though Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Gulbadin Naib and Azmatullah Omarzai have been included in the preliminary squad.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board said the final 15-member squad will be announced at the end of a week-long preparatory camp in Greater Noida.

The preliminary squad will arrive in India on August 28.

“20 players have been selected for the training camp, and a 15-member squad will be selected to play the only Test match against New Zealand after observing their performance and fitness,” said an ACB release.

“I am happy to see some youngsters in the squad who performed well in domestic cricket and have gotten the opportunity to be part of the Test squad for this Test match,” said ACB chairman Mirwais Ashraf.

Afghanistan preliminary squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ikram Alikhel (wk), Shahidullah Kamal, Gulbadin Naib, Afsar Zazai (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ziaurrahman Akbar, Shamsurrahman, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Nijat Masoud, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveed Zadran, Khalil Ahmad and Yama Arab.

A young Afghan side with an average age of just 25 have vowed to give audiences back home rare cause for jubilation at the T20 World Cup after a breakthrough performance at the 50-over showpiece. Kabul’s skies were raked with fireworks when Afghanistan celebrated their stunning eight-wicket victory against Pakistan in the ODI World Cup in October. They finished sixth, ahead of defending champions England — who they also beat — stoking hopes for the T20 tournament in the United States and West Indies starting on Saturday.

“In the past when we would defeat a bigger team, our victory was tagged as an ‘upset’,” 22-year-old Sediqullah Atal told AFP on the phone from their training camp in the West Indies.

“The word ‘upset’ is no longer in the dictionary and we are ranked among the favourites,” the left-handed opening batsman said, insisting his team is “no less than anyone”.

Afghanistan has been through decades of war, but the country’s passion for cricket has never gone away.

“When you have the support of 40 million people and they motivate you, it is a feeling of absolute delight,” said 20-year-old all-rounder Nangeyalia Kharote.

Delight of supporters

It’s “a matter of great joy” to represent his country, though they must now “match the high expectations” of supporters, he told AFP in Kabul ahead of his departure for the Caribbean.

“The love from the Afghans both at home and abroad is remarkable,” Sediqullah Atal added.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), which manages the men’s team, has the full backing of the country’s Taliban government, which forced the United States and its allies out of the country before seizing power in 2021.

The Taliban rulers, yet to be recognised by any country, have effectively banned women from sports however under their austere interpretation of Islam.

Afghanistan’s participation in the World Cup therefore comes with some controversy, skirting the International Cricket Council’s rules which stipulate all Test-playing nations must have a women’s side.

The ICC has previously said the matter is “pending”, allowing Afghanistan to compete — although England and Australia have refused to play them outside the World Cup.

‘They are our heroes’

Despite decades of war and poverty Afghan cricket has strengthened, with new academies, sponsorship deals and tournament financing.

Their first match at the 2024 World Cup is on June 4 against Uganda in Guyana.

“Our team has arrived and are playing at a very high level in a short space of time,” cricket enthusiast Afzal Khan, who trains at the Rashid Khan Cricket Academy in Kabul, told AFP.

“They are our heroes, they will have a place in my heart forever,” said the 19-year-old, who hopes to fill the shoes of Afghan captain and ace spinner Rashid Khan.

“They have struggled through lots of difficulties to bring the team and our cricket to this level.”

In an interview published by the ACB last week, Khan pledged: “We will shine well in this World Cup too, and match the expectations of our compatriots.”

Back home in Kabul, another young cricketer in training made those expectations very clear. Naseem Khan told AFP “this will be the best World Cup for Afghanistan”.