T20 WC: Torn by Taliban, Afghanistan skipper Nabi says 'Cricket only happiness in country'

Afghanistan Cricket Team will kickstart their T20 World Cup campaign in Super 12 on October 25 when they will face Scotland at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. At a time when Afghanistan is going through political turmoil due to the oppressive regime of the Taliban, skipper Mohammad Nabi has opened up on how the team is coping up amidst the tense situation in the war-torn country.

During a virtual press conference, Mohammad Nabi on Sunday said, "The fans are really waiting for that camp because the only happiness in Afghanistan is cricket. If you're willing to do well in the tournament and we win the games, the fans are really happy and there will be a lot of smiles on faces and insha'Allah everything will be changed of this work if we do well in the tournament."

The political unrest back in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover hampered the preparations of the cricket team, however, Nabi said that they are raring to go for the competition.

"Everyone knows that back home in Afghanistan there's a lot happening and everything from the last few months. But from a cricket point of view, everybody is ready for that World Cup and we prepared well for this World Cup. There is a little issue when we arrived in Dubai with those issues. But these last two warm-up games and practice sessions will well prepare the team and prepare well for the upcoming games for tomorrow games as well," Nabi added.

Mohammad Nabi on Afghanistan's lack of preparation for T20 World Cup

Talking about the preparation for the showpiece event, Nabi said: "Yeah, it's not that much ideal but from last one and a half weeks, when the team arrived and the current time and everyone finished two warm-up games and around one week practise sessions, I think it's for those cricketers playing cricket all over the world, especially five, six, seven players are playing different franchise cricket from last six months, we are in touch with cricket."

"There is a few players just with the condition and also getting with the team and the competition of the team is more important. And we did from last one and a half weeks and we are well-prepared insha'Allah we'll try our best and do well," he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that Mohammad Nabi was appointed as Afghanistan's skipper in T20 after Rashid Khan stepped down from captaincy due to the chaotic and violent situation that occurred in the country after the Taliban takeover. 

Afghanistan team & schedule for T20 World Cup

• October 25: Afghanistan vs Scotland (Time 7:30 PM IST  Venue: Sharjah)
• October 29: Afghanistan vs Pakistan (Time 7:30 PM IST  Venue: Dubai)
• October 31:  Afghanistan vs Namibia (Time 3:30 PM IST  Venue: Abu Dhabi)
• November 3: Afghanistan vs India (Time 7:30 PM IST  Venue: Abu Dhabi)
• November 7: Afghanistan vs New Zealand (Time 3:30 PM IST  Venue: Abu Dhabi)

Squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Farid Ahmed Malik, Naveen ul Haq

Reserves: Sharafuddin Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Dawlat Zadran, Fazal Haq Farooqi

(Inputs: ANI)

(Image: AP/@T20WorldCup/Twitter)