Afghanistan students in Chandigarh excited to watch home heroes in action

Cricket in Afghanistan has been growing slowly yet steadily in the recent few years. They have grown from strength to strength and are now in a position of reckoning for the all important Test status as well. Over the years, they have had many achievements on the field. For a strife-torn and war-hit country, cricket seems to be the only source of joy. Their happiness doubled when two of their cricket stars made their mark in the Indian Premier League this year.

Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan were bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the auctions earlier this year. While Nabi was bagged for his base price, Rashid scalped a huge sum in the auctions making him an instant hit. Both players did not let down their fans either and have been performing supremely in the tournament. Nabi has got just one game thus far but Rashid is a regular name in the playing eleven.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad are now set to take on the Kings XI Punjab at Mohali. Amidst this scenario, the Afghanistani students of Punjab University are very excited to see their stars in action. As per the quotes in Hindustan Times, the students spoke at length about their expectations from the heroes. Shahqa, a political science student who lost his paternal uncle in his native land due to bombing, noted that cricket is the greatest joy for them.

“Afghanistan cricketers doing well in the IPL, it’s the greatest joy for all Afghanis. We feel so proud of them. Our country is reeling under tremendous trauma due to continuous combat, but when cricketers like Rashid and Nabi show what they are capable of in this IPL, it makes us our hearts swell with joy and pride,”quoted Shahqa.

Mosa Khan of Loger Province noted that there is good amount of Afghanistan students in India because of lack of opportunities back home. However, he feels that lack of education is no longer an issue because cricket has given hopes to many people. Also, they are happy with the fact that a new stadium is being built in Kabul with the help of the BCCI.

“A large chunk of Afghanis are in India to pursue higher education. The infrastructure in our country has been declining. But Afghanistan’s surge in cricket has given hope to many. There are already a few cricket stadiums where youngsters hone their skills. In fact a huge stadium is getting built in Kabul with the help of BCCI. A friend of mine trained in Chandigarh a few years back while studying and now he is knocking on the doors of our national team in Afghanistan. People have posters of Nabi in their homes,” he noted.

Zahid Aria from Panjshir province, rightly remarked that the youngsters have now found heroes to idolize. They now have a motive in their minds and that is a very big point for the Afghanistan as a nation. IPL is helping them realize their dreams.

“Every family has suffered back in our country due to a constant war-like situation. There is no normalcy. And when our cricketers do well at the world stage or in the IPL, others too weave their dreams. Allah has blessed us with this, youngsters are now seeing these cricketers as role models,” said Zahid Aria.