At the start of the tournament, they were being termed as pushovers. Mere spoilsports not to be taken seriously against whom you can score some easy runs and put points on the board. But Afghanistan were not pushovers -- they resorted to some serious giant killing by shocking one of the tournament favourites and giving the others a run for their money.
If you had asked the Afghan players, they would have told you it was always going to be like this. Flying high after qualifying for the tournament and backed by a great support staff, maybe they had bigger objectives to achieve. Some of them felt that they had opportunities to cause a few more upsets and threw away the advantage in some crucial matches.
The consistency and the belief will surely come with more experience. At the moment, however, what Afghanistan have achieved is no mean feat. It has made the cricketing world sit up and take notice. ICC will perhaps feel more compelled to take a few more steps for the betterment of the cricketing conditions for the Associate nations.
There will be no shortage of cheerleaders for the Afghans from now on. With their infectious enthusiasm, they have won over many hearts and minds. Moreover, they have resurrected the name of their nation - a country torn asunder by politics and war have now been placed firmly on the global map for no reason apart from the glory brought by cricket.
Winning hearts
Winning hearts and winning matches are not the same thing. Ask the Australian invincibles who went on to win three consecutive world cups and they would tell you the former is infinitely more difficult. During that period, Australia won just about everything but alienated themselves from a lot of cricket fans in the process.
They spoke as profusely as they scored. They sledged as vilely as they swept away oppositions. Frothing and fuming, they always needed to create an air of positive tension to win matches. Led by a captain who excelled in mind games, it was the kind of Machiavellianism that saw them ascend to the zenith of cricketing glory.
And then there are the current bunch of the West Indian players. Rockstars in the shortest version of the game, their knocks on the field are as king-sized as their lives in reality. Always laid back with a smile on their lips, it is impossible to hate them even when they are hitting your team out of the park with disdain.
It is this Windies brand that seems to have seeped into our collective cricketing consciousness. It is this brand that is on display everywhere now in franchise-based T20 tournaments around the world. With co-stars that you will possibly end up playing with or against in alternate regularity, the malice has been now replaced with friendly banter on the field.
You share a beer and a joke with the opposition, and then focus all your aggression on the moment of delivering the ball. It is a more gentlemanly and fiercely aggressive way of playing cricket.
It is this brand of cricket that Afghanistan seems to have grown up idolising - the attractive bonanza of competitive sport and festivity dominated by the Dhonis and Maxwells.The pot-bellied Shahzad muscling a ball to the stands with the a smile or jumping up in celebratory unison with his teammates has become a defining image of the World T20 this year.
It is representative of the kind of cricket they play -- a king-sized grandiosity that liberates them to go for it without fear or expectation. It is the kind of cricket that has endeared them to many.
Great performances
And it is not just about being the benign opposition -- when it comes to performances on the field they are as good as any. In their very first match against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, they made it clear that they were here to play cricket. Led by their skipper Stanikzai who hit some towering sixes, they posted a competitive 153 on the board and made sure that the Lankans had to toil hard to get there.
Against the Proteas, they revved it up a notch. Chasing 209 for victory at the Wankhede, many expected a meek surrender from the Afghans. But they come out swinging hard instead. Led by the charismatic maverick Shahzad, the South African bowlers started disappearing all over the field.
With his 19-ball 44, Shahzad had taken them to 52 off four overs by the time he got out. The Afghans raced to 100 off 10 overs and were well on course to something special before they messed it up. The Proteas were left sweating and when the Afghans finished at 172, they knew they had somehow got out of jail.
Against England, the Afghanistan spinners spun a web reducing them to 6 for 57. It would take a great effort by Moeen Ali to take them to 142 and Afghanistan fell agonisingly short by 15 runs in the end. For them, it was once again a story of being too near yet too far.
But the Afghans would not have left without registering a victory. Chasing a paltry 123 for victory, the Windies succumbed under the pressure created by the Afghan bowlers. It has to go down as the upset of the tournament.
But it was also a symbolic victory for the Afghans who are children of the Windies style of aggression with a flair and large-heartedness. Emotions toppled over as Gayle and Sammy joined Shahzad for an impromptu celebratory dance. It was a great gesture from the Windies, the kind of behaviour that makes them so loved. It was also the win with which Afghanistan marked their arrival on the big stage.
The road ahead
In players like Shahzad, Stanikzai and Nabi, Afghanistan have a great outfit who can go a long way. They have a great support staff with two of the greatest of yesteryears, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Manoj Prabhakar having come together to coach them.
The stepmotherly treatment of the ICC towards the associate and affiliate nations does not help much. Good teams like Ireland have continuously bemoaned the fact that the ICC is not doing enough to give them more opportunities and make cricket a global sport.
Inzamam was full of praise for his side and said, "Definitely, it is a proud moment to read such encouraging tweets from cricket legends. It's true we played good cricket as a team and we need ICC support in the upcoming World Cups.
"Recently, we played two T20 and two ODI series with Zimbabwe. So we have beaten a full member in four series. So you can compare how competitive we are and what we can do if given a chance in future World Cups."
It is thus important to see that they get a sufficient number of matches to play in between and the spotlight does not shift away from them once the ICC tournaments get over. More bilateral series against Test playing nations is the need of the hour with a possible upcoming tour to Pakistan.
A PCB official told The Express Tribune, “There is a series against Afghanistan in the pipeline, with Pakistan keen on hosting them in April. “The discussions between the PCB and the Afghanistan Cricket Board have taken place. Initially, two four-day matches and three ODIs were proposed, but it might have to be limited to just three ODIs as we’ve got the Pentangular Cup scheduled as well.”
PCB spokesperson Amjad Hussain Bhatti also confirmed the news and said they are trying to work out the logistics at the moment for hosting Pakistan.
Afghanistan are living a dream at the moment. A long road lies ahead and there is much more that the team will like to achieve. Afghanistan do have miles to go but at the moment, they seem to be keeping the promises.
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