3 min readJun 6, 2026 07:43 PM IST
First published on: Jun 6, 2026 at 07:10 PM IST
On his way to the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium in Mullanpur on Saturday morning, Khial Mohammad told his cab driver something worth remembering. Afghanistan, he said, stands very little chance against India. But the players will give their best. They always do.
Mohammad had come alone. Of the 2,000-odd fans inside the ground, he was the only one waving an Afghanistan flag, standing in the harsh summer sun in the Harbhajan Singh pavilion. By afternoon, four other Afghan fans had trickled in to other parts of the ground. Until then, it was just him.
He had reasons to be there beyond the match. Two of the players on the field are old friends. Nangeyalia Kharote, who made his Test debut on Saturday, is from Baghlan province. Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi is from Khost. Mohammad knows both from the junior cricket circuit back home. When Kharote’s name was called, Mohammad chanted it from the stands.
A Kabul native, Mohammad has been studying at a private university near Chandigarh since 2022, when his father sent him to India for his MBA. His younger brother Mujeeb Rehman still plays in the junior circuit in Afghanistan. Cricket runs in the family conversation, if not quite the family profession.
Mohammad played cricket himself through his teenage years before his father sent him to Chandigarh. The game never left him. Over the years he has followed Afghanistan to different venues across India, watching the team grow match by match.
He has watched his country’s cricket grow from a distance, province by province. Nangarhar gave them Rashid Khan. Khost gave them Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Paktia gave them Mohammad Nabi. The grounds back home are mostly college or open fields, the pitches concrete slabs. Players come up through the Shpageeza Cricket League and the Ahmad Shah Abdali First Class Tournament. “India has helped Afghanistan a lot, providing them the home venue,” he says. “Afghanistan has only played 12 Tests in 26 years. But the team will make a name in Test cricket too, like in ODIs and T20Is.”
He was there in 2023 when Afghanistan beat England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the World Cup. They finished sixth in the round-robin stage. He had followed the team across venues that tournament. “Even when the team loses, we are there,” he says. He remembers the comeback after the opening loss at Dharamshala. He watched the semi-final run at the 2024 T20 World Cup. He has seen Noor Ahmad and Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar announce themselves in the IPL this season, while Rashid Khan continues to be the constant.
And he became a Virat Kohli fan in 2012, after the 183 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. Afghanistan does not yet have an international stadium, though a 100-acre sports complex is coming up in Kabul. Mohammad has a wish that goes with it. “Every Afghan fan hopes to see Virat Kohli play in Kabul someday,” he says. He plans to meet Kharote and Sharifi after the day’s play.
Of the 2,000-odd fans inside the ground, Mohammad was the only one waving an Afghanistan flag, standing in the harsh summer sun in the Harbhajan Singh pavilion. (Express Photos | Nitin Sharma and Kamleshwar Singh) 
Share
