The joy of watching Afghanistan play

Sport is meant to be fun, it should be played with an unbridled attitude and with exuberance. Very often in the current day and age it has been confined to excess scrutiny and tactics that suck the fun element away from the game. True, there is much to a game than just fun and frolic but the essence of playing a game seems to wither out far too often.

Enter Afghanistan and welcome joy. Their journey so far has evoked tremendous passion and their unfiltered emotions have injected exuberance once again. They may not be as skillful as the other teams around, but they are mighty talented and are a great bunch of triers. These are men who have whizzed past their own history and continue to survive in a rather hostile environment in their own country, and yet when they take the field, it is as if there is not a worry in their world.

The bowlers run in every time and give it their best, the batsman gives two hoots for the reputation of the bowler and smash the ball if it is anywhere in their arc. Mohammad Shahzad, exemplifies what Afghanistan is. He backs away and tries to fetch a ball that would be wide to wide of square leg on one leg and then misses. He does not throw his head back in disdain but gives a smirk ann then tries a more outrageous shot and gets the inside half of his bat through the covers. He laughs once again and then conjures all his might to belt the next ball again. And his madness does have a method, he creates a platform more often than not. It is not for nothing they are the most improved associate nations in the current years and they have captured imaginations once again in the ongoing World T20. ( Also read: Mohammad Shahzad earns nasty send-off, delivers own post-match sledge to Dale Steyn)

And they are serious about the game can be seen from the presence of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Manoj Prabhakar in the support staff. They go through their drills with intensity and yet there are chinks in their armour that have been glaring. For all their flamboyance with bat and ball, their ground fielding is not anywhere close to par. They need polishing and they need to tone down a bit on the field, no doubt, but then their rise has been nothing short of a miracle and for the time being it is best we enjoy them in an unabashed way.

And then there is the ICC, that needs to factor in recent performances and decide on their course of action for the Associates. For starters, they need to rethink their World Cup plans. The Associate nations are literally crying out for more matches, and the heartfelt appeal of Preston Mommsen will echo for long. If only these teams get matches anywhere close to what the full members get, the cricketing world will prosper.

There is support for the Afghan team, and there is hope that refuses to die down. The general public is always ears for inspirational stories, and Afganistan is that story unfolding before the eyes. Bear in mind, they have results to show too, they bossed the qualifying stage, almost choked Sri Lanka and then went on an amazing heist against South Africa. The finishing line very often seems close and yet ios the most difficult to breach, and experience to run that extra mile helps. ICC are you listening, and most importantly are you watching?