Afghan pride as Test status beckons

KABUL: Afghanistan’s fairytale rise in world cricket could this week see them acquire coveted Test status, a massive boost for a nation long divided by war and riven by ethnic rivalries.

No longer rank minnows, Asghar Stanikzai’s team are up for consideration following their victories over Ireland in the Intercontinental Cup in March, paving the way for their potential entry into cricket’s elite.

Both Afghanistan and Ireland are bidding to become the 11th and 12th nations to join the Test club, nearly two decades after their immediate predecessors Bangladesh, if confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) at a meeting in London.

“A committee is working inside the cricket board, and we will work on our proposal to present it to the ICC in the future, and hopefully full membership and Test status are on the way,” chairman of the Afghan cricket board, Atef Mashal told AFP during a recent interview.

“We can not give any time frame at the moment, it is upon the ICC, they will decide when to give Afghanistan the Test status, and it is not in our hands,” Mashal said.

Unlike the sport’s other major players, Afghanistan was never a colony of the British Empire.

Instead many Afghans’ first contact with the sport took place during the 1980s and 1990s, as refugees who had fled to Pakistan to escape the Soviet invasion.

Recent successes, particularly in last year’s ICC World Twenty20, have further raised the country’s profile.

Spinners Rashid Khan, who idolises former Pakistan international Shahid Afridi, and Mohammad Nabi both made their mark in the Indian Premier League.

Khan was sixth-highest wicket-taker in his debut IPL with 17 scalps, and the pair broke into the top 10 of the ICC One-day International (ODI) bowling rankings during the just-concluded tour of the West Indies.

Their former batting coach and former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif said a place among the Test nations was well deserved and would benefit them in the future.

“Afghanistan deserves Test status because their performances are good. Once they get to play Tests, more and more players will come forward just like happened in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — Kenya suffered because they were not awarded,” he told AFP.