18:56(IST)
Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Arjuna Ranatunga, and Allan Border—all these greats have been pioneers of cricket in their respective countries and changed the way the game was played forever. Apart from the impact they had on the field, where they won numerous matches for their nations, they inspired millions around the world to pick up cricket. Afghanistan is relatively new in international cricket but that has not prevented them for making a mark for themselves globally already. Once a war-torn nation, the country is now making giant strides to achieving greatness in the sport. Seeing the history of cricket in Afghanistan, they don’t have a modern-day great as yet, but certainly a pioneer in his own right—Mohammad Nabi. The former Afghanistan captain, who is their most-capped player too (98 ODIs and 60 T20s), might not be as great as the above names, but his contribution could well be termed as immense. For a major part of Afghanistan’s struggle, when the team was just trying to establish itself, Nabi captained them in 28 ODIs and won 13 of those matches. But Nabi’s biggest contribution was playing in foreign leagues that helped him get invaluable experience, which eventually helped youngsters back home. Right from Australia, England, Pakistan, Bangladesh, West Indies he has plied his trade across the globe, and now is gearing up to appear in his second Indian Premier League. Bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 1 crore, Nabi hopes to gain some more experience, and continue to evolve as a cricketer. “I am very happy that SRH picked me for the second time in a row, and this just shows that they have the confidence in me, that I can do well. Tom Moody, coach of SRH has been following my game closely during the Big Bash League and ICC World Cup Qualifiers as well. That's why the management exactly knows how I'm playing, that will help me and the team during the tournament. It's a great feeling to be playing all over the world. I signed for Leicestershire, then I played in Australia and India, and I'm here back again. It's my dream to be a part of all these prestigious leagues. They also give me a lot of experience. There are a lot of international players who play in these leagues, and there's a lot to learn from them. That experience helps me as I pass on this to the youngsters back home. After playing in all these leagues, my confidence is also very high,” Nabi told CricketNext in an exclusive chat.