Afghanistan Fans Get To Watch Rashid Khan, Mohammed Nabi On Home Soil In Shpageeza Cricket League

Afghan student Basit Wali Hotak travelled hundreds of kilometres overnight to Kabul on Thursday for the chance to glimpse his cricket hero, Rashid Khan, on a home pitch. The Shpageeza T20 league kicked off last week, with the usual cricket fever fanned by the promised inclusion of national players, many of whom have not joined domestic tournaments since the Taliban authorities swept to power in 2021. Thousands of fans turned out at the Kabul International Cricket Stadium to see the famous players.

"I am extremely happy," Hotak told AFP, as he waited in a crowd jostling for tickets and fried snacks before filing past Taliban security guards to enter the stadium.

"I hardly noticed how long the line was out of joy that I would finally get to see Rashid Khan," Hotak said of the ace spinner and captain of the T20 national team.

Hotak left the southern city of Kandahar on Wednesday night to reach Kabul by 6 am (0130 GMT), sleeping only an hour before rushing to the stadium.

In cricket-mad Afghanistan, the national team's strides on the international stage have provided rare moments of widespread celebration in a country ravaged by four decades of war.

Hotak was one of many who made long journeys over accident-prone and poorly maintained roads and spent their limited cash to buy the 50 Afghani (70-cent) tickets.

"For Rashid Khan, even if the ticket was 1,000 Afghanis ($14), I would still have bought one," said the 21-year-old, who has a picture of the Afghan sensation as his phone background.

"This has been my biggest dream."

Much to Hotak's dismay, Khan and other star players expected to join the match between the Speenghar Tigers and Mis-e-Ainak Knights were not part of the playing eleven.

Still, when the cameras showed the