When India captain Ajinkya Rahane invited Afghanistan’s players to join his side for a team photograph after inflicting the biggest ever defeat on a Test debutant, it was clear that the cricket world was feeling for the new boys.
However, Afghanistan, well used to adversity, are insisting that they do not want sympathy, despite being thrashed by an innings and 262 runs inside two days in their first five-day Test.
Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai said he was surprised by the margin of the defeat, but added that the team, with their new glowing red Test caps, would “learn lessons” from the loss.
Photo: AFP
The team would use the defeat as a sign of the work they still have to do, Afghanistan Cricket Board chief executive Shafiqullah Stanikzai said.
“We are not taking it on ourselves, there was a lesson to be learned,” he said.
“It was a good thing that we faced the world No. 1 Test side in our inaugural match. It has given us a real indicator if we are to become a top cricketing side in the world,” he added.
Since gaining one day international status in 2009, the Afghans have qualified for their second 50-over World Cup in England and Wales next year. They have also been part of four Twenty20 World Cups.
Virtually every member of the team has witnessed conflict at close quarters in their home country, and many of them learned cricket in refugee camps in Pakistan.
“The kind of character that our team has shown in the past decade is that we have come back from tough situations and we have worked hard,” Shafiqullah Stanikzai said.
Afghanistan’s introduction to the five-day game exposed major weaknesses in a side bundled out twice in a day for 109 and 103, while responding to India’s 474.
Their bowling was also found wanting, with teenage spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman giving away 229 runs between them.
Afghanistan’s West Indian coach Phil Simmons defended the star spinners, who had impressed in the Indian Premier League, but could not cope with the big day.
“I think in the first part nerves got the better of them and as they went along they showed what they are capable of,” Simmons said. “But I think they are by no means happy with how they performed.”
The Afghans can learn from their mistakes, Simmons said.
“I do believe they want to succeed, they want to be good at it and we have to work five times as hard as we did. I believe that they will get there,” he said.
“They should not be blamed,” Rahane said, encouraging the newcomers to bounce back.
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