Emotions at peak for India-Afghan Test

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 12

City-based students from Afghanistan can not wait to see their national team take on India in their first-ever Test at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on June 14.

As many as 800 Afghan students in the tricity are excited to witness the moment when their country makes its Test debut. Afghanistan will become the 12th Test playing nation after 23-year cricketing journey that began in 1995 with the setting up of Afghanistan Cricket Federation. It will be an emotional moment for the students of war-torn nation as they never thought of seeing their team play a Test match so soon. 

PU student Nazamudin Asar, who hails from Khost Province, said, “If I get the ticket to see the match, I will be waving both India and Afghanistan flags. For me, it will be like a family union after a long time.” 

Afghanistan and India share a strong bond of friendship and it is visible in the eyes of the students studying here. “The Afghan fans will be the real winners, no matter which team wins,” he added,  

Four Afghanistan players, Rashid Khan, Zahir Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, recently played in the IPL. It has has generated a huge goodwill among the cricket lovers in India. Afghanistan’s sensational one-run win over Bangladesh in the third T20I at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun has also brought the fans of two countries together. The Afghan stars vowed the Indian fans with their gutsy performances and since then they are being hailed as heroes here.

As many as 20 Afghan students travelled from Chandigarh to Dehradun to cheer for their team during the three-match T20I series. Amiri, Saifurahman Ahmadzai, Ahmadullah and Abdul Wahed, all hailing from Paktia province in Afghanistan, were pleasantly surprised to see a huge fan following for the Afghanistan team. “We met ‘Flag Baba’ — Raza Khan, a diehard supporter of Afghan team — and felt very happy. Earlier, football was the most popular sport in our country but now cricket is fast emerging as a popular game.”

MA (Economics) student, Yonus Amiri said, “I came to Chandigarh in 2013, before that, I had never seen or played cricket. My friends and I used to play football at PU grounds but gradually we developed interest in cricket, and now we just love it.”

The Afghan students are planning to organise cricket tournament among themselves on a monthly basis. Some of them feel that they have got the skills to match club cricketers here. 

Chandigarh University, Gharuan, student Naveen Ayubi, who hails from Kabul, said he is proud to see his country as a Test playing nation. “Our college mates take us more seriously now. They invite our teams to play tournaments often,” Ayubi said.

The Afghan students are particularly happy to have India, the No. 1 Test team, as their opponents. That it is happening in India is an icing on the cake. “It is a matter of great pride that Afghanistan will take on India in their first-ever Test here.  After many years, when we will recollect this match, we can proudly say that we were in India when this moment arrived,” he said.