IND v AFG 2018: This was Afghanistan's dream, says Asghar Stanikzai

Asghar Stanikzai is not just the captain of Afghanistan, he is the father figure of his team.

Asghar Stanikzai (ICC)

The Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai has come out and expressed that his team is extremely determined to put up a good show when they play against India in their maiden Test match that starts this Thursday in Banglore. 

Asghar Stankzai owns not only the lovable Afghani accent but a decently build batting technique that makes him the most important wicket to take for the opponent, when they play red ball cricket against his country. Stanikzai has a solid base to his batting style and averages above 40 in first-class cricket. 

Ahead of the biggest occasion for his team, he was quoted saying to Cricbuzz as, "This was Afghanistan's dream, The people who have been laughing at us for ten years, the ones who told 'Leave cricket, what's there in cricket? There's no future in cricket, nothing' -- the same people come to you and say, 'Congratulations, you guys didn't give up'. It's because of comments like these and with blessings of God, that Afghanistan has become a Test team today. And we're playing against India. For me, the team and the people in Afghanistan, this is a very proud time."

Stanikzai is a hard taskmaster and he wouldn't want his side to make, at any stage, the kind of mistakes that are expected from a team playing the toughest format for the first time but he knows Afghanistan has their own way and plays best exemplifying their spirit. 

"We just try to enjoy the game and play it as freely as possible. And in the Afghanistan team, we love playing with that sort of freedom. I think that's the Afghanistan culture."

Stanikzai finally talked about his own game and said, "When I was young, I used to watch Sanath Jayasuriya and my cricket started from then, from 1996, I was very young then, and all my brothers used to be cricketers. But I didn't pay too much attention to it [cricket] then but when I started playing the game regularly, then I used to admire Jacques Kallis a lot. Then as I developed even more, I started admiring Mohammad Yousuf from Pakistan. Because he was a fantastic player, technique wise. So I used to watch him and learn. Tried to see how he played and use it in my game. So I kept watching him over and over and tried to play like him."

It is his temperament and being this father figure of the side that controls the young players like Rashid Khan and reiterates the need to focus for the likes of Mohammed Shehzad, that makes him absolutely vital for Afghanistan. 

"We have players who are always aggressive, especially someone like Shahzad and Rashid. They play very aggressively. So I tell them sometimes to calm down a little. When you're a player, you play with a lot of aggression, but when you become the captain of the team, you bring down that aggression a little, Before, even I used to be a lot more aggressive, sometimes angry and sometimes enjoying. But all that changed automatically when I became the captain. You don't even realize it. Leadership is a thing that changes you automatically."

Stanikzai gave an insight into how the game started off as a passion for him. He said, "Earlier when I was younger, cricket was a passion. When we used to play, it was only because of our passion (for cricket), Just as I started playing more and more gradually, when I was 17 and later when I began playing for the national team, the passion turned into a profession. So, we struggled a lot then. We didn't have enough facilities for cricket. But as I played more and more for the country, there was a dream that I get the team the ODI status first. Later we became Associates, then we started pushing to make our nation a Test playing one. Those dreams, all of our players had it and now that day has arrived."

Come Thursday and the future, where Afghanistan will be regularly going through the grind of top level International cricket, they'll need the father figure of their side to keep confirming his stature for the team and keep exhibiting his importance. 

(Inputs from Cricbuzz)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 12 Jun, 2018

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