Afghan cricket gets a taste of India

NEW DELHI: The largely unheralded Afghan cricket team that gave the feted Indians a scare at the ICC World Cup on Saturday bears a sponsor’s brand that’s a household name in these parts — Amul. It reflects India’s support for the war-torn nation’s bid to nurture the sport as it struggles to find its international footing and achieve some semblance of normalcy. In that sense, cricket is seen as a unifying, healing force and its cricketers as heroes — gladiators from an impoverished nation bringing glory to all Afghans.

India is the world’s pre-eminent cricket superpower and has often been criticised for throwing its weight around. But in Afghanistan at least, India has reverted to its original role as an evangelist for the game. It’s helping to build two cricket stadiums in Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold, and Mazar-e-Sharif, base of famed Tajik leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was assassinated in 2001.

That’s not all — India is also providing Afghanistan’s players with home grounds at Greater Noida and Dehradun.


Stadium in Maldives
It is considering Lucknow as a third venue. That’s a lifeline for the cricketers in terms of assuring their personal safety, access to equipment and finding high-class players to practice with. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is also providing technical and logistics support to the Afghan cricket team and considering a plan to host 10 cricket coaches from that country during the domestic Ranji Trophy season.

This is the third time that Amul is sponsoring a cricket team in the World Cup. In the past, it’s been associated with New Zealand and the Netherlands.

Cricket has emerged as a tool for soft-power diplomacy in South Asia. In neighbouring Maldives, President Ibu Solih is an avid fan of cricket and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had during his visit earlier this month offered to build a cricket stadium besides providing gear and training to players. The stadium is likely to come up in Hulhumalé, an island near the capital Male. The International Cricket Council admitted Maldives as an associate member in 2017 and Solih was in Bengaluru in April to watch an Indian Premier League (IPL) game.

In Afghanistan too, the cricket outreach will help, given that New Delhi and Kabul have a mutual desire for peace in the region, apart from a shared history.

“Amul’s sponsorship will contribute to deepen India’s enduring bonds of friendship with the Afghan people,” India’s former envoy to Afghanistan Vivek Katju told ET. Indian diplomats have taken a keen interest in developing sports for the war-battered citizens of the landlocked country.

The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which markets dairy products under the Amul brand, exports products worth around Rs 200 crore annually to Afghanistan, where India has invested heavily in the development sector. The Amul logo appears on the team jerseys as well as on its training kits at the World Cup.

Besides, Amul and Afghanistan share an old, little-known association. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, revered as the Frontier Gandhi, had visited the Amul facility in 1969. “This is a big moment for Afghanistan cricket and we are happy that Amul will sponsor us for the World Cup,” Afghanistan Cricket Board chief executive officer Asadullah Khan had said when the deal was announced.

Interestingly, Indian healthcare products company, Kent RO Systems, has sponsored the cricket team of neighbouring Sri Lanka. Earlier this year, as part of a strategic move to expand into the international market, Kent RO became the principal sponsor for the island-nation’s team at the ongoing championship.