'Playing internationals in Afghanistan is bigger than winning WC for us'

Rashid Khan has come to Chennai several times in the past. He knows when to regale the locals with a few bits of his Tamil as well. But the last time he was in the city with the Afghanistan team, more than two years ago, the team took a lap of honour around the stadium, soaking in the applause from a near-packed MA Chidambaram Stadium, celebrating their first World Cup win over arch-rivals Pakistan. That victory was a bit of a surprise then, a statement that they were ready to be counted among the best in Asia. A thumping testimony of that could've been established a few days later if they were not to be at the receiving end of a whirlwind knock from Glenn Maxwell in Mumbai.

Nonetheless, to prove that none of their work in their previous World Cup outing in India was a fluke, less than a year later, they marched along to the semifinal of the T20 World Cup in 2024. Fast forward to the marquee event in 2026, they won't be walking in as the underdog to world tournaments anymore. It's a sign of their growing stature in men's cricket, strongly backed by the youth team's performances in successive editions of the Under-19 World Cups.

"Before going into the 2024 World Cup, we hadn't set the target for ourselves, to reach the semifinal," Rashid confessed on Saturday, a day ahead of their tournament opener against New Zealand. "Our target was to play a good brand of cricket, [try to focus on] what we can do, how we can make things harder for the opposition team and what are the areas we need to improve.

"It's the same for this World Cup as well, we don't really set the target for ourselves, I don't mind where we finish, as long as the energy, the effort and the body language remains on the top. That's more important than winning or losing the game. As a team, that's the mindset we go with against any opposition, to put in that 200% effort and then we see the result."

The last time the Afghanistan team was in Chennai, there was no opportunity to understand what Afghanistan cricketers wanted out of their game, their aspirations, their ambitions and their demands. The mic was always left with Jonathan Trott, the head coach, to field questions. It had been the status quo for several months.

"We don't have much cricket in Afghanistan, especially shorter format. We have four-day cricket, but not much of the white-ball cricket. For you as a captain, it becomes very hard to pick the team because you don't have many options. Like in India, lots of tournaments are happening every day and you see lots of talents there, and you have so many options, so much competition. What we are missing at the moment is competition, and that's so important for every team. When you have competition, you will try your best, you will work very hard.

"If there's someone from Afghanistan who wants to become a spinner, he knows what he needs to do, where the standards are. He will have to compete with Rashid, Noor (Ahmad), Mujeeb (Ur Rahman) - the standard is set, and very high. He knows he will have to work very hard.

"If we get that kind of competition in the batting as well, we are going to be at a different level. But that will come only when you have a very strong domestic cricket structure. When you have lots of competition back home, that's where you can get the talent, and I hope we focus more on our domestic cricket, where we will get more opportunities for the youngsters to showcase their talent, and then to bring them to the national team. Hopefully that happens.

"Whatever you see on TV, it's all just a natural talent and we haven't gone through lots of tough cricket. In domestic cricket, it's a little bit easier, but once we make that harder, it's going to become easier for us in international cricket."

"All the media, all these people will see how people back home in Afghanistan are, how they are welcoming international players and how they are enjoying cricket. That's something which is more than a dream to be playing international cricket. When we play IPL here, when we play an international game, we see how much their international stars are supported by the local fans and how much love they give.

"I am not saying we don't get love here. Whenever we play here, we get lots of love and support, especially while playing in the IPL and the World Cup. We haven't felt like we're away from Afghanistan, but when you play in your own country, it's a different feeling. [If international cricket comes to Afghanistan] The world will see Afghanistan as well, how beautiful it is. Hopefully one day we make that possible, that international team comes and they play cricket there."

It was a rare day, and after long, when an Afghanistan cricketer could open up about the challenges back home. So it was almost as convenient a time to go off-track, but ask an equally important and uncomfortable question - would you like to see the women of Afghanistan play international cricket?

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