[Exclusive] Pakistan-Afghanistan rivalry is greater than India-Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib

Gulbadin Naib is one of the finest players in the Afghanistan white-ball setup at the moment. He is arguably the most powerful Afghanistan batter, who can clear the biggest of boundaries with consummate ease. Naib is also a handy seamer, who gives vital breakthroughs for his teams.

Naib is currently plying his trade in the DP World ILT20 2025, as he is representing Dubai Capitals, who recently booked their spot in the playoffs by beating Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Sunday, February 2. After the match, Naib told CricTracker how big a platform the six-team tournament is for the Afghan players.

"We always talk about top leagues around the world. The platform that we are getting here, and that our players had already got before, I think our cricket structure has changed. Even Rashid (Khan), Mohammad Nabi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Zadran (Mujeeb Ur Rahman), they shared the IPL experience with us, something that was not their in the team. And the team atmosphere has changed. Even the players' fitness structure has changed. So I think... Afghans players, they are in demand around the world irrespective of where the league is. Wherever the league is, you'll get around 8 to 10 players from Afghanistan," Naib said.

Naib spoke about the experience of sharing the dressing room with a legendary cricketer like David Warner, who has scored close to 13,000 runs in the shortest format.

"The ILT20... I'm enjoying here, and the fun that I'm having with such big players, and the way that we are sharing the experience [is great]. Today, I was watching David Warner, scoring 13,000 runs, it's no small thing. He made 108 half-centuries, eight centuries in T20 cricket. I was watching it on the screen and later I started thinking that [such great] players that are with you [in the team], on the bus, in the dressing room, even on the ground... if they are with you in the crease, you get to learn a lot. So, I'm enjoying here [at ILT20], the cricket, and this tournament. I can say that it's the best moment in my life now," he added.

The 33-year-old, who scored a 25-ball 47 and bagged one wicket against the Knight Riders on Sunday, was asked which one between India-Afghanistan and Pakistan-Afghanistan is the more intense rivalry. Naib chose to be quite candid as he picked the latter and explained the reasoning behind it.

"(Laughs) It's a tough question. Because if you go to the audience, people like to see us playing matches against Pakistan, because we enjoy playing with them. They are a loving cricketing nation. We enjoy playing with India as well because Pakistan and India are cricketing nations, loving cricketing nations, people enjoy cricket a lot," Naib stated.

"Even when we were playing the last T20 series in India, we couldn't believe that we were playing at their home... the crowd we saw [was huge]. And even when we were playing in Pakistan, or when we played matches with Pakistan in Dubai, they enjoy a lot. People are entertained. People get to see things like this, and they enjoy cricket. And we want to play more against the big teams because the more we play the better it is for the players. So I think we like to play with Pakistan," he added.

Naib also shared his views on Afghanistan's chances of doing well in the upcoming Champions Trophy, where they are placed in Group B alongside Australia, South Africa, and England.

"If you ask any Afghanistan player, he will tell you [that Afghanistan are the favourites]. But all the teams are the favorites. Because the top eight teams in the Champions Trophy, you can say that they are top-ranked. Because the eight teams which did well in the ODI World Cup teams, they qualified from there for the Champions Trophy. So I can say that no team is easy [to face]. All the eight teams are very tough," Naib opined.

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Naib was asked what was the secret behind Afghanistan's success in the last 10 years. The experienced campaigner gave credit to the Afghanistan government and the supporters of the Blue Tigers.

"The most positive thing we see is that, in the coming time, are our people and they love and support us. When we were not playing with the top team[s] in the beginning, they were pushing us that 'why don't you play matches with the top team[s]?'. When we were playing with them, even when we defeated them, when we lost, the people of our country [stood behind us]. The cricket craze is very high there. Even the top people from the government also support cricket a lot. So these are the things that push us is to improve our game, and it motivates us so that we can register some fine achievements. You can see the top leagues, you can see our performance for the national team as well," Nabi noted.

"So I think the people of our country, even the ones who like our team, whether they are from India, Pakistan, or Bangladesh - because we receive a lot of messages and love from the people -
this is what motivates us for cricket. We get a chance to work hard, because people expect a lot from us.
So what I would say is that the love we get from our home, our country, from the people of cricket, it's not that our country only likes the Afganistan team, the whole cricket fraternity likes us, they enjoy watching us play. Now, I can say that Afghanistan is one of the top countries in terms of craze for cricket," the Logar-born added.

Australia do not play bilateral series against Afghanistan, owing to Taliban's policies on women's participation in sport. In their most recent meeting at the T20 World Cup in 2024, Afghanistan picked up a historic victory against . Naib was asked whether a new rivalry was brewing in international cricket. The veteran decided not to dwelve into the political aspects and said that sports is a platform that unites and fosters friendly bonds.

"No, as a sportsman, we don't think too much about this. Because sports are all the things that unite you, the bonds you get. And you will give a good message to the people," Naib concluded.