Afghanistan's cricket team received a heroes' welcome on Saturday as cheering crowds lined the streets and packed a stadium in Kabul to greet the players after they qualified for the 2015 World Cup.
Huge crowds were expected to throng Kabul on Saturday as the war-battered city gives a heroes' welcome to Afghanistan's cricketers after they qualified for the ICC World Cup 2015.
Afghanistan reached the World Cup for the first time on Friday, completing a remarkable journey from refugee camp cricket to rubbing shoulders with the sport's superpowers.
Afghanistan qualified for the ICC World Cup 2015 when they beat Kenya by seven wickets in an ICC World Cricket League Championship encounter at Sharjah. It is a moment they have been waiting for since they began their cricketing journey a decade ago. The qualification not only takes their cricket to a new level, but it is a huge moment for the country. Sudatta Mukherjee looks at Afghanistan’s most important cricketing moment.
In a fantastic display of grit and determination, strife-torn Afghanistan qualified for its maiden ICC World Cup after defeating Kenya by seven wickets to finish second in the World Cricket League Championship in Sharjah.
Raees Ahmadzai, the former Afghanistan captain has seen the team grow right since its nascent stages. Today, he is involved in coaching in Afghanistan and was also a selector at one point. Off the field, he has taken an important role as a UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador in Afghanistan. Nishad Pai Vaidya spoke to Ahmadzai about his various roles and experiences.
As their motherland witnessed more bloodshed and a radical change, they kept pursuing their dreams of glory on the world stage. Two decades down the line, the Afghanistan cricket team stand victorious and symbolise hope for a country with an unsure future.
Afghanistan have been granted the associate membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC), making it the eighth Asian nation and the 38th overall to get the status.
Almost a week after Mohammad Nabi’s father was abducted, the Afghanistan captain awaits for his return.
Unknown gunmen dragged the father of Afghanistan's cricket captain from his car on the outskirts of Jalalabad city and have taken him hostage, officials said on Wednesday.