Small win, big battle: Afghanistan cricket has a long road ahead despite T20 World Cup success
While the country celebrates their team reaching the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, there are still major short-comings in Afghanistan cricket.
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This article originally appeared in The Field’s newsletter, Game Points, on June 26, 2024. Sign up here to get the newsletter directly delivered to your inbox every week.
Naveen-ul-Haq stepped up and sent a delivery that skidded off the pitch at the Amos Vale Stadium in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The ball crashed into the pads of Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman, and the umpire promptly gave him out.
The Afghanistan players erupted into celebrations – most were in tears. This was history for them. They had made it to the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for the first time.
They had beaten Bangladesh to secure the spot in the last four, but in the process, Rashid Khan and Co had knocked out 2021 champions and cricket powerhouse Australia.
Afghanistan is still a new nation in the top tier of the sport, but they have formed a particularly tasty rivalry with the most successful team in the sport, Australia. The two cricket teams have had a few tetchy years when it comes to playing each other.
Cricket Australia, the governing body of the sport in the country, had previously cancelled three scheduled series against Afghanistan, including a one-off Test in 2021. The reason given was based on the deteriorating condition of...
