Nabi wants to bring smiles to Afghanistan

As Afghanistan prepared for their opening match in the T20 World Cup against Scotland, captain Mohammad Nabi played a straight bat on Sunday to the inevitable questions on politics.

“Everyone knows that back home in Afghanistan there’s a lot happening and everything from the last few months,” he acknowledged in the press conference ahead of the game in Sharjah on Monday. 

“But as a cricket point of view, everybody is ready for this World Cup and we prepared well. The fans are really waiting because the only happiness in Afghanistan is cricket,” he said. 

“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.”

After the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in August, the cricket team briefly faced the possibility of being banned from the tournament if the women’s game was discontinued.

Then star spinner Rashid Khan stepped down as captain before visa issues in the Gulf placed yet another hurdle in the team’s path. All-rounder Nabi took over as skipper.

“There was a little issue when we arrived in Dubai,” Nabi said, saying that the last 10 days were not “ideal”. – AFP