In a more recent development, the Afghanistan The cricket board denied NOCs (No Objection Certificates) to three of its players – Naveen-Ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Fazalhaq Farooqi – for playing franchise T20 leagues abroad. In response, cricket expert Akash Chopra criticized the Afghani Cricket Board for not doing enough for its cricketers who came into the limelight after playing in foreign leagues.
As we all know, Aakash Chopra is a very vocal personality who doesn’t shy away from expressing herself. This time he criticized the Afghan cricket board for being negligent and not helping them improve their skills, which is limiting their development into top-class international cricketers.
The nation of Afghanistan is ruled by the Taliban regime, a militant group that seized control of the country in 2021. This has affected their image internationally as millions of people suffer from a cruel tyranny.
It also has a direct impact on Afghanistan’s cricketers as well as the country’s cricket board. Six-time world champion last year Australia had actually refused to play a bilateral home series against them as part of a disagreement and protest against the country’s government banning women from taking part in cricket.
The Australian Cricket Board’s decision to deny admission to the Afghan team angered players such as Rashid Khan and Naveen Ul-Haq, who were playing in the Big Bash League at the time. To express their disappointment, both players reported back for the remaining BBL games.
“If it is so uncomfortable for Australia to play against Afghanistan, then I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable by my presence in the BBL. Therefore, I will think hard about my future in this competition,” an angry Rashid Khan tweeted last year.
Ahead of the 2023/24 BBL season, Rashid had also pulled out, not because he is still angry about Cricket Australia’s actions, but because he sustained a back injury in November. Apart from him, leg-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is the only Afghan player taking part in the 2023/24 BBL for the Melbourne Renegades.
But the Afghan cricket board’s recent decision has definitely shocked everyone as they gave Naveen, Mujeeb and Farooqi a two-year ban from playing in foreign leagues after the trio asked the board to let them off the central contracts.
“Afghan cricketers have improved their game because they are T20 freelancers,” says Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra spoke honestly about Afghan cricketers improving their own game because they are T20 freelancers who play T20 leagues around the world. But the recent development has infuriated Aakash Chopra in the board as he feels that if Afghan players had only played domestically, they would not have been able to win against teams like England and Pakistan in the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
He also claimed that the board was putting its own interests before those of the country and that they had no role in their development and therefore they should not stop Naveen, Mujeeb and Farooqi from playing in foreign leagues.
“It looks good when you hear it, but the truth is, when you look at how much the Afghanistan Cricket Board has contributed to the development of the players, they say they have become such good players because they are T20 freelancers are,” said Aakash Chopra in his interview on YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, the Afghan trio’s participation in the IPL 2024 is currently unclear after the Afghan board banned them for two years. Naveen Ul Haq played for Lucknow Super Giants, Mujeeb Ur Rahman was picked by KKR and Fazalhaq Farooqi was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2024 auction.