{"id":1664,"date":"2016-07-16T14:32:55","date_gmt":"2016-07-16T14:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taand.com\/en\/?p=1664"},"modified":"2016-07-16T14:32:55","modified_gmt":"2016-07-16T14:32:55","slug":"cricket-a-unifying-force-in-war-ravaged-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/?p=1664","title":{"rendered":"Cricket : A ‘unifying force’ in war-ravaged Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"
By David Maxwell<\/span><\/div>\n
BBC News NI<\/span><\/div>\n

It wasn’t quite as warm and dry as Afghanistan, but at least it didn’t rain on the country’s national cricket team when they met Ireland in Belfast on Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Afghan team is just 15 years old.<\/p>\n

Despite a bloody war and the ongoing insurgency, it has gone from strength to strength.<\/p>\n

Watching on is Shafiq Stanikzai, the chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, who was chosen by the country’s President Ashraf Ghani.<\/p>\n

He says cricket’s popularity has been a unifying force in a divided nation.<\/p>\n

“The way cricket has played a role in the prosperity and stability of the country,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I don’t think any other sport in any other part of the world has played such a role and this is a magical journey.<\/p>\n

“Cricket is loved by every single person, we are using it to bring people closer, to bring tribes closer.”<\/p>\n

Perception<\/h2>\n

Cricket was the single sport allowed in the country by the Taliban, but it has only become a national obsession since 2001.<\/p>\n

That interest was intensified by the return of refugees from Pakistan after the overthrow of the Taliban.<\/p>\n

Since the start of this year dozens have died on the streets of Kabul.<\/p>\n

The country still has a significant security problem.<\/p>\n

During the conflict of Northern Ireland’s Troubles, the international perception of the place was sometimes at odds with the situation on the ground.<\/p>\n

And Mr Stanikzai said it’s the same in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

“Back home we are loveable people, we are respectable people, we are hospitable people,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We love living in Afghanistan and it is such a nice and beautiful place.<\/p>\n

“Every single Afghan is hoping that it will be a better place and a very much different place in two to three years.”<\/p>\n

Supporting<\/h2>\n

Ireland certainly won’t be able to play a return game in Kabul soon as it’s still not deemed safe to play international games in the Afghan capital.<\/p>\n

But Shafiq is hopeful that will change, adding that the country is “ready” to host any side.<\/p>\n

“By 2019, 2020 I am very much hopeful and inshallah [God willing] we will be having games inside Afghanistan,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We have the grounds, we have the people supporting us, but yes, we have to prove to the world that it is a safe place to play cricket.”<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n
Image copyright<\/span> Press Eye<\/span> <\/span>
Image caption<\/span> Afghanistan’s cricketers are “heroes” to their fans, according to one supporter living in Letterkenney <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a hill overlooking the pavilion at Belfast’s Stormont ground are some Afghans who have come to see the game, several of them in their national dress.<\/p>\n

Among them is Javid, who has been living in Letterkenny in the Republic of Ireland for nine years.<\/p>\n

This is the first time he’s seen his national team in the flesh.<\/p>\n

Heroes<\/h2>\n

“We have suffered quite a lot, we have had a civil war for quite a long time,” he said.<\/p>\n

“So seeing our flag and listening to our national anthem, it’s the only reason that makes us smile.<\/p>\n

“It’s a new thing having heroes, having sport stars – we never had them before.”<\/p>\n

Mr Stanikzai said the team has had a warm welcome on their first visit to Belfast, and he cracked a joke about the weather.<\/p>\n

“We are even having two back-to-back games without any rain,” he laughed.<\/p>\n

The Afghanistan team has another two matches to play in this one-day international series and soon they will head for home.<\/p>\n

With recent bombings and the increasing strength of the Taliban since the withdrawal of British and US troops, uncertain days lie ahead for Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

But it’s clear cricket is a huge force for good in the war-ravaged country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By David Maxwell BBC News NI It wasn’t quite as warm and dry as Afghanistan, but at least<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[318,321],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-2","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nCricket : A 'unifying force' in war-ravaged Afghanistan - Taand English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/?p=1664\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cricket : A 'unifying force' in war-ravaged Afghanistan - Taand English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By David Maxwell BBC News NI It wasn’t quite as warm and dry as Afghanistan, but at least\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/?p=1664\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Taand English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-16T14:32:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/2-9.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"490\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"taandcom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"taandcom\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/?p=1664#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/?p=1664\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"taandcom\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/3681fac18d733fc714b6134f14e0d46a\"},\"headline\":\"Cricket : A ‘unifying force’ in war-ravaged Afghanistan\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-16T14:32:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/?p=1664\"},\"wordCount\":639,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/?p=1664#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/2-9.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/?p=1664#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/?p=1664\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/taand.net\/en\/?p=1664\",\"name\":\"Cricket : A 'unifying force' in war-ravaged Afghanistan - 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