Like music can make a difference and touch human lives, cricket too can get the same effect to the fore and a small bunch of Afghanistani cricket aficionados have exemplified it. They have literally in real life brought Afghanistani cricket to the limelight. Just to update you about the fact that 5 Afghanistani international players have made the cut for the auctions on the 20th of February. The players are Captain Mohamad Asghar Stanikzai, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad Mohammadi, Rashid Khan Arman and Dawlat Zadran and the beauty is, most of them are street smart, explosive and thorough entertainers.
So, how are we trying to link the international players with a bunch of unknown commoners from the picturesque land of Afghanistan, Kandahar to be precise.
Here is the story
Hailing from Kandahar, these few people made a herculean effort to first get the visas done and then come to India to root for their national cricket team, during the T20I WC in India last year. The story is, they were apparently holding placards stating Afghan cricketers will add new flavor not just to IPL but also to India-Afghanistan relations.
Yes, come 2017, and their wish has been accepted. Afghanistan have five of their biggest cricketing names going under the hammer in four days time. These fans are more nervous than the cricketers, understandably so. Reminds me of the movie, ‘MSD- The Untold Story’, where there was a group of friends helped the Ranchi Rambo, Mahendra Singh Dhoni become the global superstar.
To cover all bases ahead of the IPL extravaganza, these Afghanistani aficionados have already started doing some creative pre-production work by curating posters which read ‘IPL’ and ‘Afghan players in India will make the India-Afghan relations better.”
Hats-off to the thought of generating bonhomie and peace between the neighbours, proves that cricket can play a pivotal role in bridging ties among foes, as well.
