Shapoor Zadran Talks about the Rapid Growth of Afghanistan Cricket

Afghanistan left-arm speedster, Shapoor Zadran opened about the struggle an Afghanistan player has gone through.

Consequently, Afghanistan Cricket has come through the ranks. Their cricketers have risen from the Ashes. There is no doubt that the Afghan Cricket Journey in the last five years is a fairy tale.

The journey of Afghanistan Cricket was a bumpy ride. However, their players have fought against the odds to rise to the topmost level. They have produced one of the best spinners in the shortest format of the game, Rashid Khan.

Furthermore, they have a good stock in Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Zahir Khan.

Therefore, it is amazing to note their journey. Afghanistan have worked hard for their success, and thus they are reaping the fruits.

What a journey it has been for Afghanistan Cricket.

In fact, there was a gun attack on Zadran, but it was not strong enough to break the determination of the fast bowler. Moreover, he rose above poverty to play for his national team.

“Now I fear no one else other than Allah. I and my family have gone through to overcome poverty. We can’t afford to be scared because of these attacks on me. I am proud to be playing for Afghanistan,” Zadran said while talking to TOI.

The lanky fast bowler also recalled how he and his teammates used to practice. Zadran added they used to buy a Rs 10 chips packet because they didn’t have money at that time.

“Me, Nabi, Asghar and Shahzad used to play eating chips because a packet of chips was available for only Rs 10. Now we get salaries and allowances. Now playing cricket is much easier for youngsters,” Zadran went on to add.

Zadran added they started playing a decade ago. The fast bowler added the situation was not ideal, as they had to fight poverty.

Furthermore, Kabul was the only secure place they found in the country. However, Zadran added that the present situation is far better.

“I was 19 when we started playing. We were very tense when we first started playing cricket seriously because the situation in Afghanistan wasn’t good. We could only play in Kabul because it was the only secure place. It was a very small ground. We feared we will be beaten up because we fought poverty. Now things are a lot better,” the 30-year old noted.

Zadran gave a lot of credit to the youngster of the country for the upward swing in their improvement graph.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan have come through the ranks. Both these mystery spinners have delivered the goods in a competitive league like IPL.

“Afghanistan cricket has passed the stage of the struggle because the juniors have come up the ranks. Rashid and Mujeeb have been amazing. These boys play IPL at the age of 16-17. Even I am in awe that these boys play such a high level of cricket. They take on the likes of de Villiers and Kohli. I am proud of these boys when they trouble big batsmen. I heard MS Dhoni talking about Mujeeb’s mental strength. That is awe-inspiring,” Shapoor concluded.