Nawroz Mangal: 10 interesting facts about the former Afghanistan captain

Nawroz Mangal has been a part of the side's rise and has captained the side to achieve new heights.

Born July 15, 1984, Nawroz Mangal is one of the most significant figures in Afghanistan cricket. The cricketer has been a part of the side’s rise and has captained the side to achieve new heights. On his birthday, here are 10 facts about him, which not many would  know.

1.  Refugee camp: Mangal was born in Kabul amidst a lot of political unrest, due to which he was forced to stay in Kohat Road refugee camp, Peshawar in Pakistan along with his family for a long time.

2.  Knowing cricket: During his stay in these refugee camps, Mangal was introduced to the game of cricket. Pakistan, being one of the major cricketing nations, helped grow within him the love for the game, which persisted to make him choose it as his profession later on.

3.  Watching the first match: Living in a refugee camp, it was difficult for the playesr to watch a cricket match. It was not until the 1996 Cricket World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan that Mangal watched his first match on TV. Talking to Times of India, he said, “I had heard so much about Imran Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram, but had never seen them. We did not have a TV. The first match I watched was the ’96 World Cup quarterfinal between India and Pakistan. Finally, the names had faces.”

4.  A Tendulkar fan: In the same interview, he mentioned about his first cricketing idol Sachin Tendulkar. “My friend got me this poster of Sachin back in ’99. I could not put it up anywhere, so I carried it with me everywhere I went. I still have that poster. I have admired his game and his courage. It has been my heartfelt wish to get his autograph on my palm.”

5.  Return to motherland: As US army, ended Taliban rule in Afghanistan, Mangal and his family returned to where they actually belonged. However, he and others took along cricket and thus Afghanistan cricket team came to into existence.

6.  Taj Malik’s experience: Taj Malik, one of the earliest known cricketers in Afghanistan, was the one to spot the talent in Nawroz Mangal.

7.  Refusal from father: After seeing the special talent in Mangal, Taj went on to seek permission from his father to let him take cricket seriously. However, given the situation in the country and as cricket was not as popular there back then, it did not seem to be a very good idea to Mangal’s father and he straight away refused.

8.  Debut for Afghanistan: However, Mangal’s father had to give up in front of the talent his son had and in 2001, Nawroz Mangal stepped out to play for Afghanistan for the very first time against Nowshehra. His first international match was in Asian Cricket Council (ACC) trophy against Oman. Though Afghanistan lost the match, Mangal scored a standout century that proved his mettle.

9.  Skipper of Afghanistan’s first ODI: Mangal was handed the captaincy in the year 2007 and led Afghanistan in the team’s first ever One-Day International (ODI). It was the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in the year 2009 as Afghanistan defeated Scotland to bag their first ever victory in the very first match itself. Mangal himself scored 32.

10.  International career: Playing 47 matches so far, Mangal has amassed 1096 runs in ODIs. His highest individual score 129 came against United Arab Emirates (UAE). In T20Is, from 30 matches, the player has 454 runs after his name, his highest score being an unbeaten 65 against Papua New Guinea (PNG).

(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)