Exclusive: Former skipper Asghar Afghan denies false rumours claiming cricket ban in Afghanistan

Former Afghanistan cricket team captain Asghar Afghan, who led his nation from 2015 to 2021 and featured in six Tests, 114 ODIs and 75 T20Is, is all set to take the field once again in the third edition of the Legends League Cricket 2024. Afghan will play for Gujarat Greats under new captain, Shikhar Dhawan.

In an exclusive interview with CricTracker, he spoke about Afghanistan's historic ODI victory against South Africa and boldly predicted future triumphs against cricketing giants like India. He also opened up about what the Afghan team will have to do well in Tests, the longest format of the game. Furthermore, the 37-year-old also reflected on Afghanistan's chances in the Champions Trophy 2025. The cricketer, who is busy plying his trade in the LLC 2024, also hinted about his possibility of working for IPL franchisees.

Excerpts

1. What are your views on Afghanistan's historic series win over South Africa in Sharjah?

Teams face difficulties in playing against Afghanistan in Sharjah because it is our home ground and we know how the wicket is at any given time. If this match had taken place in South Africa or England, the result would have been different. But there is no doubt that Afghanistan has played great cricket and bowled brilliantly. If we look at it on paper, the players of the Afghanistan team have more experience than South Africa. Because apart from one or two players, many players play a lot of cricket.

2. Does Afghanistan have a chance of defeating India in any future series?

You can't say anything in cricket. The match between Afghanistan and India was tied in the 2018 Asia Cup. Recently, the last match of the T20 series of the India tour was tied, and a super over was played. There is no doubt that Afghanistan is a great team. You cannot say whether you will be able to defeat this team or not because cricket is a day game, whoever plays well will win the match. If a series is played between India and Afghanistan, then Afghanistan will give them a tough challenge. It is difficult to defeat India in India, but if the match is held in Sharjah, then India will have to face difficulties.

3. Your views on recent reports speculating about cricket being banned in Afghanistan due to the government or political influences?

A lot of people lie on social media. No one loves cricket as much as the government of Afghanistan does. The people there, the government people, and the ministers all love cricket a lot. They all want cricket to progress. These are all false rumours, all lies. Cricket is going on very well there, the people love cricket a lot and there is a lot of craze for cricket there. In Afghanistan, it is only cricket that brings a smile to people's faces.

4. How do you assess Afghanistan's performance in the upcoming Champions Trophy?

Look, the pitches of Pakistan and India are very similar. There are batting tracks, but later it becomes a bit slow. But Afghanistan will have to go there and play good cricket. As I said earlier, Afghanistan's players are very experienced at this time, they play cricket leagues all over the world and play different bowlers.

I think today there is no team as experienced as Afghanistan in the world, except India and one or two other teams. But it is being heard that whether India will go to Pakistan or not because of politics. I think these things should be kept away from cricket. Sports should be kept away from politics. Afghanistan will play very good cricket in the upcoming Champions Trophy.

They have a lot of experience 50 over World Cup and T20 World Cup, the team has now come to know that they can beat any team. Therefore, I hope that this time Afghanistan's performance in the Champions Trophy will be different.

5. What are the areas of improvement for Afghanistan to get success in Test cricket?

Look, first of all, we have to make our first-class cricket tough. Whenever Afghanistan has a first-class season, I think all national players should play the first-class season. Our first-class season is about to start, but about 40-50 of our young cricketers have left the country.

If the current 25–30 cricketers also do not play first-class cricket, then our test cricket will be left far behind. My suggestion to the cricket board is that they should ask the national players to play domestic cricket so that the youngsters get experience. Only then can we do well in this format.

6. How are your preparations for LLC, and your team's chances of lifting the cup?

On paper, our team is very good. The team has players like Shikhar Dhawan, Chris Gayle, Mohammad Kaif, and Shannon Gabriel. We are playing regular cricket. Before this, I have also played a lot of cricket leagues. You cannot say anything in T20 cricket, let's see what happens, but we will try to play quality cricket.

7. If given a chance to work in IPL in any role, would you like to join any team?

There is no doubt that IPL is a big, fast form of this sport. If you get a chance to work in IPL, then it increases your experience a lot. The best players and coaches of the world are there.

So, I cannot say which team I will work with, but you get a chance there and whichever team you are with, you will get a lot of ideas and experience there.