<![CDATA[How cricket gave Afghanistan its hope back]>

Joy was in short supply for Mohammad Imran. The high school senior studies in Afghanistan's Gardez city, capital of the eastern province of Paktia; needing a break, he planned a short trip to his home village in the province's Zurmat district. Once there, however, he was almost caught up in a battle between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents, and his trip back to Gardez was a struggle.

His next attempt at recreation proved a lot more fruitful and a lot less potentially deadly " a pursuit of Afghanistan's national sports teams.

On the afternoon of June 22, Imran sat at home, poured himself a cup of tea, and turned up the radio to better follow a match between Afghanistan and India at the Cricket World Cup. Earlier that day, he had logged on to YouTube to see his country take on Japan in the final of the Asian under-20 Futsal Championship.

"It was a big relief to watch the matches," he says. "News that makes us happy is rare, and the national sports teams create a pause from day-to-day violence and suffering."

Both Afghan teams lost their matches, but Imran still considers himself a winner " to many like him, the country's sports teams are a rare source of pride and happiness amid the spectre of suicide bombings, raging combat and air strikes.

Coach Taj Malik Alam with Afghan cricketers in 2003 at a muddy cricket ground in Kabul Photo: Facebook

More than this, the promise of a career in sports is a beacon of hope to young Afghans who spent too long in and out of refugee camps and conflict, especially when they see how much the country's athletes have accomplished on the international stage in so short a time.

"In refugee camps in Peshawar, Pakistan, we had a small television to watch cricket games," says Taj Malik Alam, the first coach of Afghanistan's national cricket team. "In 1992, we formed a team and participated in local tournaments."

That was a big year for Pakistan, the host country of many Afghan refugees " it won the World Cup, one cricket-obsessed nation passing the bug to another. Afghans soon turned to cricket for entertainment, a respite from the harsh daily realities of the refugee camps.

Taj Malik, now known as the father of cricket in Afghanistan, says it wasn't long before almost the entire population of these camps was attracted to the game. "I was dreaming of playing against Australia," he says. "I wanted to go back to my country and register the [national] cricket team."

But someone else beat him to it. In 1995, when the country was in the throes of civil war, Khaleqdad Noori registered the Afghanistan Cricket Federation with the country's National Olympic Committee.

Afganistan's Mohammad Nabi plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in 2016. Photo: AFP

During the Taliban regime, from 1996 to 2001, cricket was prohibited like any other sport, and only towards the end of their rule did Taliban fighters view cricket with any sort of tolerance.

In 2001, when the United States-led coalition overthrew the government of the Taliban, Taj Malik and about 1,000 other refugees returned home from Pakistan. He re-established the cricket team and invited refugee cricket players to play for and in their own country, a dream that had taken root in the camps.

"When we were playing cricket in the refugee camps, it was for our own entertainment," says Taj Malik, who is now a senior technical adviser to the Afghanistan Cricket Board. "Now we represent a war-torn country, and inspire it " including other sports."

One of those who found both inspiration and salvation in sport is Mohammad Nabi, a 34-year-old Afghan professional cricketer who was born in Logar Province and sought refuge in Peshawar during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

"I gambled my life when I joined the cricket team in 2002," he says. "I dropped out of school and turned down an offer to join the family business. At that time, there was nothing in cricket."

Afghan youths play cricket on the outskirts of Jalalabad city in Afghanistan. Photo: Ezzatullah Mehrdad

But the team's ambitions proved stronger than the challenges in their path. By 2010, the national cricket team had qualified for the World Twenty20 tournament, which was that year hosted in the West Indies, where they earned plaudits for their performances against heavyweights such as India.

"We had to do it or die, as many of us came from poor family backgrounds and we just could not go back, but only forward," says Mohammad Nabi, who captained the team at the 2015 Cricket World Cup. "It was amazing to hear the national anthem at the World Cup, and I remembered playing cricket in the refugee camps while I was playing [at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand]."

When they played overseas, Afghan cricketers made history and left an inspiring legacy " while they are in action, the entire country pauses to watch and cheer them. This year, the national team took part in their second World Cup, and is now ranked in the world's top 10 teams.

"Although they did not win a match at the World Cup, there is huge pride in seeing them play for our country," says 24-year old Raees Sahak, who plays cricket on the outskirts of Jalalabad city, in eastern Afghanistan. "I feel happiness on my skin when they raise our flag in international stadiums."

Afghanistan's under-20 futsal team at the Asian championships in June. Photo: Afghanistan Football Federation

As the evening sunlight hits a muddy yard on the city's outskirts, the activity heats up. Among those who regularly play cricket there is Mohammad Yasin, 16. "I've been playing for three or four years now," he says, smiling. "I like [national cricketer] Dawlat Zadran and want to be a professional cricketer like him."

Mohammad Nabi says cricket has given him everything he has today " from a healthy bank account to international fame. "For Afghanistan, cricket is the main reason for happiness," says the former national captain, who has played professionally in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, the Caribbean, and Australia. "Whatever we do for Afghanistan, it is not enough."

Cricket is not the only sport that is growing in popularity in the country. Futsal, an indoor version of soccer, captured the hearts of young Afghans who cheered the national team's progress all the way to the final of the Asian under-20 Futsal Championship.

"I used to think of how to serve my country, possibly through joining the army," says Ali Arab Zadeh, a 19-year-old Afghan refugee living in Iran who plays for Afghanistan's futsal team. "But then I learned that not everything was about guns. I can serve my people by playing."

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani watches the futsal final between Afghanistan and Japan. Photo: Afghanistan's Presidential Palace

Ali scored for Afghanistan in a thrilling semi-final victory over Indonesia, after the team had beaten Hong Kong, Thailand and China. The final was played in Tabriz, Iran, where Afghan refugees are not allowed to visit, but Tehran gave permission for fans to support the team.

"In the final match, we entered the indoor stadium and 4,000-5,000 fans cheered," says national futsal player Mujtaba Mohammadi, 19. "At that moment, I realised the importance of our sport."

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani watched the game on television, and called the team's head coach Abdul Razaq Momrak to offer support. Students gathers in coffee shops to watch, and street children couldn't take their eyes off televisions in shop windows.

"Young Afghans are victims who have the potential to flourish; they are neither criminals nor terrorists," says Abdul Razaq, who was a refugee in Iran, where he played soccer on the street.

Mustafa Fayazi, a 21-year-old university student, says the whole country prayed, laughed, and held their breath as they watched the futsal team. "Afghanistan is like a wounded person who has fallen on the ground and tries to stand up using a piece of wood," says Mustafa, who loves the sport. "We can lean on these players as we try to stand up. They show we can succeed at anything."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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