IND vs AFG: Afghan ambassador grateful for Narendra Modi's message before the historic Test

The scenario in Afghanistan is no less than abject and playing cricket in the nation has been tumultuous. Last month, the lethal bomb blast at the Spinghar Cricket Ground, during a practice match before the Ramadan Cup, and there was a massacre at the venue. The Taliban doesn’t make it any easier for the cricketers and are a massive detriment towards their fervour to ply their trade in the sport.

Despite the hurdles, cricket in Afghanistan has surged ahead. They made their ODI debut in 2009 versus Scotland at Benoni and haven’t backtracked ever since. They made their first massive appearance when they crossed swords with India in the 2010 World T20 at the Gros Islet. Their brand of cricket captured everyone’s imaginations and were showered with accolades.

In 2012, they again made an appearance in the World T20 and gave the Men in Blue a run for their money. Three years later, they qualified for their maiden World Cup campaign in 2015. During the event, the team beat Scotland and registered their first victory in the mega event. They also qualified for the 2019 World Cup to be held in England and Wales.

Afghanistan’s dream run

To add to their delight, they were crowned with the Test status and became a Full Member nation last year. Tomorrow, they will start their maiden Test match versus India at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Asghar Stanikzai and Co have been superlative in the limited-overs formats and a number of their cricketers like Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan have come to the fore.

The players have also been successful in domestic T20 tournaments around the globe. Meanwhile, Narendra Modi, the Honourable Prime Minister of India, issued a note and thanked the nation for picking India as their opponents. The words were highly appreciated by Dr. Shaida Abdali, the Afghan ambassador to India. He wrote- “Thank you Honorable PM @narendramodi for your very warm message and generous contribution towards the Afghan Cricket team!”

Here is the post

Thank you Honorable PM @narendramodi for your very warm message and generous contribution towards the Afghan Cricket team! pic.twitter.com/REEdL4zphT

— Dr Shaida Abdali (@ShaidaAbdali) June 13, 2018

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