At a time where much of Afghanistan is concerned about one thing and one thing alone, the seven-letter phrase called Taliban, that can prompt one to use adjectives like horrendous, which is just the tip of the iceberg, there’s a slice of positivity, as the news comes at a time where there’s no relief as such in the dismantled country.
The news pertains to cricket, a great unifier of sorts, a sport that has given world cricket stars like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and talents like Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who also happen to be heroes to Afghanistan, a country that looks up to them, and shall always.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board, in a statement confirming the continuation of cricket and its support to the great game, stated a news that would seem like a massive reprieve of sorts.
So what is it all about?
The support toward women’s cricket in Afghanistan will continue. And at this particular juncture of the country where one’s not even sure of what might happen to the civilian life, let alone, sports, this is a massive dose of positivity.
Source: DNA India
Why?
Afghanistan. Suppression of women. Talibani rule. The rule of the thumb. Where democracy is a joke! Whatnot.
At this time, the news that the board is supporting and sure of promoting women’s cricket in Afghanistan as well as keen to continue the predetermined engagements concerning the men’s game is a massive achievement (it’s no sarcasm).
Here’s what popular news platform News 18 of India had to say about the current developments in the world of the Afghanistan cricket board:
We officially talked with them and the issue regarding the test match will be resolved,” Fazli told Reuters.
A Cricket Australia spokesman confirmed they were in “regular dialogue with the ACB” but said that, as things stand, the board’s position on the Hobart test had not changed from last week.
The row was sparked when a Taliban representative last week told Australian broadcaster SBS that he did not think women would be allowed to play cricket because it was “not necessary” and would be against Islam.
Fazli, who returned as the ACB chairman last month in the first major cricket development in the country since the Taliban took control, said he was still awaiting instructions from the government on the future of women’s cricket.
“The new government of Afghanistan is focusing on its priority programmes,” the administrator said.
The fact is- no matter what happens in life, to any country for that matter, sports and arts and culture must continue to thrive and prosper. They give meaning and purpose, besides filling ambitions and showing a direction to people. May other avenues too open up in an Afghanistan, that despite not being war-torn, at this point in time, is in ruins.
May better times prevail for a country that, since decades, become a playground for warring foes sitting on the other side of a table where there’s less scope for diplomacy and all the time for needless rancour. That’s when, it ought to be remembered, the last Soviet tank left the country in 1989!