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Journalism of Courage
Growing up in the scenic town of Khost, Mujeeb Ur Rahman barely went anywhere without a cricket ball in his hands and it’s not an exaggeration, his childhood coach Mohammad Khan Zadran stresses.
“Ball haath mai hi raha hai humesha (he’s always kept the ball in his hands). Whether he was at the academy, at home or traveling from one place to another,” he tells The Indian Express. It shouldn’t come across as a surprise that when it came to Afghanistan stunning the world champions on Sunday, it was the cricket ball addict from the Khost province who led the dismantling of the English batting in Kotla.
Zadran, who also coached the other Afghanistan protagonist of the World Cup upset in Rahmanullah Gurbaz, takes us 12 years back when he first met Mujeeb.
A boy not older than 10-11, who’d lost his father at a young age with no other source of income in the family, but with an immense passion for cricket. “Bowling se mohabbat thi usey (He was in love with bowling),” the Khost province coach recalls before sharing a choice that he gave the young spin-bowling enthusiast an early lifeline in the sport.
“I told him, ‘Don’t worry about the fees.’ We don’t take it from the boys who come from poor households,” Zadran shares. The investment from the regional coach proved invaluable for Afghanistan, who registered only their second win in a third ODI World Cup outing.
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Following his three-wicket haul against the defending champions, Mujeeb revealed of a conversation he’d have with his skipper before they came out to defend 284 in Delhi. “We knew that dew was going to come into play later on, which is why I was asking the captain to throw me the ball in the powerplay,” Mujeeb would say at the end of the game.
It was a strategy that worked well for the Afghans as their off spinner removed England’s top scorer at this World Cup, Joe Root. An angled delivery that held its line kept low before rattling the off stump. It may have been the biggest wicket he registered on the eve, but it certainly wasn’t his most dexterous.
Despite having lost six wickets, England were still in the chase with more batting to come and tough conditions to grip the ball on offer. Enter Mujeeb for a final spell to produce a couple of rippers inside the span of two overs. A flighted wrong ‘un took an inside edge off Woakes before cleaning him up, and a 100kph plus carrom ball that induced the outside edge off to send back the last batter standing in Harry Brook.
While taking the initiative with the new ball is something Zadran recalls Mujeeb has had from his early days, the long-time coach elucidates on what’s made his ward good with gripping the ball under tough conditions.
“He used to shuffle between the hard ball and the light tennis one. Bowling with the latter, the force being generated from your finger to turn the ball is tested. If you’re able to turn the light ball, it becomes easier to do so with the hard one. Also helps that his fingers are huge,” Zadran has a crack.
On the speed of the carrom ball Mujeeb used, Zadran adds, “The gripping habits of the tennis ball also help with the speed. Getting those revolutions with the lighter one helps when you switch to the hard ball which skids more.”
It’s now a habit that Zadran inculcates to all of his young enthusiasts. “Be it the quicks or the spinners, we ask them to train with the lighter ball at least twice a week. So that the the hard ball grips nicely in the hand.” Just like Mujeeb.
