- Cricket connoisseurs, experts, players themselves, and fans alike are aware of how sport has panned out over the years. The British colonial legacy has had a few countable countries embracing the game with delight and pursuing the same with passion. As you are aware, cricket is played, followed, and propagated in not many countries, unlike football, tennis, and basketball, just to name a few. Hardly 10 plus nations are full-time Test playing countries and a few more preparing to get into the elite group. Of course, looking at the evolution of cricket would reveal that England, Australia, India, West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka were at the forefront in spreading the game to the nook and corner of the world.
PC: News18
- South Africa was admitted to the cricketing mainstream after the apartheid ended. These eight nations formed the crux of cricket playing nations followed by associate members in the form of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. We know how Zimbabwe could not realise the potential it showed once when the country was pulled down economically, courtesy of government inefficiency and blunders. The entry of Bangladesh promised a lot to begin with, but hasn’t really set the cricketing stage on fire despite attaining full status long back. Sri Lanka did manage to create ripples in the circuit by winning the 1996 50-over World Cup but hasn’t gone on to create more defining upsets to be labelled as a serious threat.
PC: Hindustan Times
- Yes, in between the International Cricket Council allowed Ireland and Afghanistan to join the elite group by granting full status. The moot point to ponder over here is whether the elevation of erstwhile associate members has resulted in the desired results on the field. Let’s look at how Afghanistan is steadily making progress at least in the short and the shortest white ball contests over the last few years. Even though Afghanistan has been granted full Test playing nation status, the team is climbing on the learning curve in the classical format. Most hearteningly, the progress Team Afghanistan has achieved in the white ball formats must warm the cockles of the ICC. The case in point is the way the team showed skills of late.
PC: ESPNcricinfo
- Afghanistan displayed tremendous verve, passion, and skills during the ICC sponsored 50-over World Cup and the T20 World Cup, respectively. Without being endowed with some of the internationally acclaimed cricketers who could march into any team, Afghans have shown enough skills and plenty of grit/determination to subdue some of the more established teams. Yes, Rashid Khan is a world-class performer duly aided by very competent cricketers embellishing the team. Now, during the ongoing Champions Trophy, Afghans not only defeated England quite convincingly but also ensured the Brits are out of the tournament itself. Such wins are no longer to be construed as upsets, as Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, recently mentioned. Team Afghan has arrived.
