Kamal Ghorui
TimesofIndia.com in New Delhi: After the heartbreaking defeat against South Africa, the Afghanistan team converged in the manager’s room for dinner. The team sat down, just hours after going down in twin Super Overs, and talked positively about their effort.There was very good reason to be downbeat after such a loss. They could have won in regulation time. They could have won in the first Super Over but for a last ball six by Tristan Stubbs. And then a hat-trick of sixes wasn’t enough in the second Super Over.
Rashid Khan, a leader in the dressing room and one of the most experienced players in the format, stressed the need to keep their heads up or they would go “one or two years back.”The dinner helped as well. The squad devoured Peshawari food, including Dal Bukhara (Dal Makhani) and Tandoori Chicken, to “vent their anger.” It is understandable that the Afghan squad misses home food as they travel from country to country and are stationed away from home.Ever since becoming a Full Member of the ICC, Afghanistan have never played at home and have used different training facilities to prepare for major events such as the T20 World Cup. From Dehradun at start to Sharjah now, Afghanistan have never found a home footing.
Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz reacts after loosing his wicket during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa (PTI Photo)
“What we miss a lot is the home food, to be honest. We go around everywhere, we’re not getting that Afghani home food, and that’s something which we struggle with,” said Rashid on the eve of their contest against the UAE at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.“Other than that, I feel we have enough people around the team who give us the best company and we don’t really miss home. And also, wherever we go, we get so much love from everyone, and that’s something which doesn’t even let us to feel like we are not home.“But sometimes you do feel, you do miss your home. You want to be having your own crowd, people cheering for you, but unluckily we are not having that opportunity where we can play in front of that crowd. But still, it’s harder.“Professional cricket, you have to manage yourself with all these and not too much think about all those other stuff. I think what we’re here for; we have to put that thing first. And there are people who don’t go home for five, 10 years. We’re lucky. We go after the tour to home, and we have a good time with the family,” he continued.
Fans cheer during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and UAE at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. (PTI)
Delhi, which hosted Afghanistan’s most recent match in the ongoing T20 World Cup, has a sizeable Afghan population. There are pockets in the national capital – such as Lajpat Nagar and Bhogal – which the refugees have called home for many years now.Some of them made the trip to the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday morning carrying flags and some wearing the traditional attire. Their presence, and noise, became even more important in the aftermath of the heartbreak that the team suffered less than a week ago.As it transpired, the Afghan team needed every ounce of that positive energy to go past the UAE — winning by 5 wickets with four balls remaining — and keep their T20 World Cup Super Eight hopes alive. New Zealand are still favourites to seal the second spot from the group, alongside the already qualified South Africa, if they beat Canada on Tuesday. That would render Afghanistan’s final contest against Canada as a dead rubber.
Rashid Khan bowls during the T20 World Cup match between Afghanistan and United Arab Emirates at Arun Jaitley Stadium. (Getty Images)
“Hoping for the best. Yes, (we) still have a little bit of hope, we can make it to the next stage and we just need to come up with a positive mindset (against Canada),” said Rashid after beating the UAE, once again stressing on the need to remain upbeat. “Next game, you never know, it’s a T20 game, we’ll have to come up with a good brand of cricket. Even if we don’t make it to the next round, we want to play with the same brand of cricket and make the country and our people proud and happy.”Having already faced heartbreak of gigantic proportions, as the ask got tougher in the 161-run chase vs UAE, the nerves started to climb.Coach Jonathan Trott expressed pride in how the team turned things around, especially after the suffering in Ahmedabad. “We were under pressure (and) that’s the pleasing thing for me as coach. I would have liked it (if it was a) lot easier. But at the end of the day when you come out on the right side of pressure situations… like we were having the history of the last game, I’ve certainly seen a shift. We’ve lost tight games like that and then after that it’s very much – been hard to pull it back, the confidence. So I see a bit of an improvement in the resilience, cricketing-wise, but also mentally,” said Trott in the post-match press conference.In the aftermath of a win, their first of the tournament, the mood in the team hotel would be a bit more upbeat. However, a trip to Lajpat Nagar for some home style food would be unfathomable, despite the suggestions of a reporter. For now, all the Afghans can do is stay positive and hope their stay in the Indian sub-continent gets longer.
