But through all this they’ve never been able to play in front of their own fans. Afghanistan has been hit by war and violence which has prevented international teams from visiting their shores. Rashid hopes for a resolution to this.
“For us, we play an international game in Afghanistan, and all the media, all these people will see how people back home in Afghanistan, how they’re welcoming international players, and how they’re enjoying cricket. That’s something which is more than a dream, to be playing international cricket in your own country.”
The UAE has tended to be Afghanistan’s home away from home. They hosted West Indies there last month. Their players have become household names when they travel to T20 leagues around the world. Rashid is an IPL, PSL and SA20 champion. He appreciates all the support he has received.
“When we play IPL here, when we play an international game, we see how much their [India’s] international stars are supported by the local fans and how much they give them love – like we get so much love, I am not saying we don’t get love here, but whenever we play here, we get lots of love and lots of support, especially playing in IPL and also World Cup we played, we have got a huge amount of support, we haven’t felt like being away from Afghanistan.
“But when you play in your own country, it’s a kind of different feeling and the world will see the country Afghanistan as well, how beautiful it is, but hopefully, one day we make that possible that international team comes and they play cricket there.”
“Oh, well, definitely, I feel like that [having a women’s team] is the kind of criteria for, I think, being a Full member, I think so, the ICC, the Afghanistan Cricket board, they have the better idea, but we love to see anyone representing Afghanistan on any stage, it’s a huge proud moment and you’re representing your country, but definitely, yes.
“Sometimes things as a player, you don’t have much in the control and we only think about the controllable things, but in this situation, we are in a kind of situation where you can’t really much have say in it, but yes, the support you have there, it’s always there, but bigger people comes in and they take the decision and they take it forward.”
