Afghans take guard for 2007 deadline

According to Rayees, the ‘Pushtoon’ factor is important, because it was they who picked up the first threads of cricket while in Pakistan, being trained to fight the Russians back home during the years of strife.

But that was then. The future is more important, and they are now looking to join the big league with the 2007 World Cup as a deadline. A deadline that might force incredulity among some readers, but the coach of the team, Taj Mallik, emphasises,‘‘We are already confident of facing a Test nation’’.

Interestingly, the line-up has only one player from Kabul. The rest come from places as far off as Khost, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Perudu and Nangrar. The camp materialised after Abdul Khalid Beig, general manager of the ACF, e-mailed the World Cricket Academy in England for an India tour. Five months down the lane, their dream’s been realised, as the youngsters are here at the PCA Stadium, with a mobile phone company as their sponsor.

Mohammad Nabi is the most promising of their players, informs the coach, and therefore is the captain of the team. ‘‘We are training in the Australian style to make ourselves more compatible to these new circumstances,’’ adds Mallik. Evidently, in an attempt at making more players at par with Nabi.

Fast bowler Hamid is another, Mallik has pinned his hopes on. Beaming with confidence as the well-built speedster takes on long strides toward his bowling mark at the nets, the coach says, ‘‘He may err in line and length, but the speed gun back home recorded 146kmph for him.’’

The fascination for the game and the hope that something drastically different might come their way in the next few years is what keeps the squad going. For the moment though, they’ll take just making it past the first round of the Asia Cup, though with the likes of Nabi and Hamid in the ranks, it might just be a step beyond that as well.