It’s no fairy story, however Afghanistan's rise in world cricket has definitely been phenomenal. They grew to become a full member of the Worldwide Cricket Council solely in 2017 and in 2024, the workforce secured their place within the semi-finals of the World Cup (T20) for the primary time. Typically thought-about underdogs or underdogs in main occasions, Afghanistan put up some glorious performances on this T20 World Cup, particularly towards New Zealand and Australia, and reached the semi-finals. Whereas the gamers deserve credit score for enhancing their recreation and performing nicely when it mattered most, India and the Board of Management for Cricket in India (BCCI) have additionally performed a key function of their rise.
How India and BCCI helped Afghanistan attain new heights in world cricket:
Residence grounds in India: The Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports activities Complicated in Larger Noida first grew to become Afghanistan's non permanent “dwelling floor” in 2015, due to the BCCI. Afghanistan shifted its base from Sharjah to Noida and likewise performed a global match towards Eire in Larger Noida in 2017.
Larger Noida is just not Afghanistan's solely 'dwelling floor', in addition they “hosted” a Twenty20 collection towards Bangladesh in Dehradun.
Steerage from Indian Trainers: By offering services, the BCCI gave Afghanistan the platform to maneuver ahead. However, that was not all. Former Indian gamers Lalchand Rajput, Manoj Prabhakar and Ajay Jadeja have all coached the Afghanistan workforce earlier than. In truth, Jadeja was their mentor within the latest ODI World Cup 2023.
The BCCI, which is undoubtedly probably the most highly effective cricket board on the earth, had invited the then President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, to look at the workforce's first Take a look at match in Bengaluru, which was an enormous step in direction of strengthening the connection between the 2 nations and groups.
Unbelievable function of IPL: The Indian Premier League has contributed probably the most to the success of Afghan gamers. Many Afghan gamers play within the T20 league and earn an excellent wage, which not solely improves their recreation but additionally conjures up different gamers of the nation.
There was an enormous improve within the participation of Afghan gamers within the IPL in the previous few years and this quantity is about to rise additional.
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