Did You Know: BCCI Is Behind Rise In Afghanistan Cricket; Read How Indian Cricket Helped Neighbours

BCCI has provided ground and other facilities to the Afghanistan men's cricket team over the last ten years, helping in their quick rise in world cricket.

Afghanistan cricket team. (Image: X)

For the first time in the history of cricket, India and Afghanistan are going to take on each other in a T20I bilateral series. The matches will take place in India. India and Afghanistan share a cordial relations with each other. Without going into the political affairs, let's talk about how Afghanistan have been helped by the generosity of India. 

Cricket in Afghanistan was not famous up untill 1990s. The sport became famous in the country between 1992 and 1996 when the civil war was taking place in Afghanistan and the citizens took refuge in neighbouring Pakistan where cricket craze was at its peak. In 1992, Imran Khan-led Pakistan men's side won the World Cup and the sport became a big passion for all in the country. The Afghans too got the bug and soon the sport's mad love entered their territory.

Afghanistan continued to be under a state of war with the rise of Taliban but after initial years of the sport being banned, from 2000, the sport saw a rapid rise. In 2001, Afghanistan became member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and by 2003, they also became a member of Asian Cricket Council (ACC). With Taliban losing its power at the start of the 21st century, it helped the sport grow and spread around the country. 

Not to forget, Rashid Khan and Nabi were the first two cricketers from Afghanistan to feature in IPL and they paved the way for the likes of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and others. The players have benefitted hugely by playing in the T20 league in India. 

The passion of the Afghan Nation has proved to be the driving force behind Afghanistan Cricket's incredible rise._

As #AfghanAtalan gear up for a historic #INDvAFG T20I series, let's get behind them and extend our heartfelt wishes for their success in the upcoming series! _ pic.twitter.com/CzPO5JbUh3

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) January 10, 2024

The Rashid Khans and Mohammad Nabis were born as Afghanistan made quick rise in the global scene. Afghanistan got the ODI status in 2009 and became a potent force in T20Is too. In 2017, the Afghan men's team got the Test status too. Their big moment came when India hosted them for Only Test in Bengaluru. The match was wrapped up by India in just 2 days but it was surely a big day in history of Afghanistan cricket.

It was fitting that Afghanistan played their first Test in India, the country which helped them immensely in the journey in international cricket. 

The war-torn nation could not have grown so quickly in world cricket had the facilities not been provided to them by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). For the last ten years or more, Afghanistan have been training in various stadiums in the country. Afghanistan's men's team earlier trained at a stadium in Noida. They then shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Dehradun where they also played some matches. In 2019, BCCI changed their training ground to Ekana stadium in Lucknow. At Ekana, Afghanistan even hosted the West Indies cricket team for 3 ODIs and T20Is each.