“The atmosphere in Kabul was like…”
Having previously worked as the head of media operations with the Afghanistan Cricket Board, words usually come easy to Hikmat Hassan. But not this time. Not when he’s speaking in the aftermath of Afghanistan’s historic win over England in the ongoing World Cup.
“It was like… Eid night,” Hikmat says after a pause, convinced that his choice of words have finally done justice to the mood in the capital city of Kabul.
“Everybody in my locality came out of their houses and got together at the chowk. And it was the same in other localities in Kabul and in other big cities.”
But the celebrations came with a catch. “Unfortunately music is not allowed now in Afghanistan but still people came together in huge numbers and enjoyed themselves. All we could talk about that time and all of the next day was cricket.”
The silence of music must be particularly deafening in Khost, a city located 150 kilometers south-west of Kabul and renowned for its Pashto music culture before the Taliban ban. It’s also the city from where Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the player-of-the-match against England, hails. And the only music that must have made sense in his city on match night was the death-rattle of stumps. Because there were a couple of that ilk when he knocked over Joe Root and Chris Woakes.
“My friends and relatives in Khost also had a late night,” Hikmat continues. “Mujeeb, Gurbaz and Ibrahim come from this city,” he reminds.
Ten o’clock is usually late for an outside stroll in Afghanistan, Hikmat says, but Khost, home to people of the Pashtun ethnicity and Sunni faith, was buzzing. The videos that Hikmat shared with Cricbuzz showed men on the streets, just chatting about cricket; showed kids on the streets, making their way through the huddles of men who were just chatting about cricket.
“It has been a big moment of happiness for everyone. We have a lot of internal issues, political and economic problems, and cricket is the only thing that brings the Afghans together. Everyone is celebrating, men and women. Unfortunately, nowadays, women are banned from coming out but they are celebrating in their own way inside the houses,” Hikmat says. And the celebration at home for many involved cooking Piye Wresha, a dish similar to halwa that’s served in happy times.
Perhaps only the sweet will do. Perhaps there’s no need for music in Khost. Not at this moment. Hope and anticipation fill the air instead, and it’s something of an aberration after the difficult last few days in the country.
Asghar Afghan, the former Afghanistan captain, explains. “We recently had an earthquake here in Afghanistan where nearly 3000 people died and thousands lost their homes,” he tells Cricbuzz.
Just a couple of days ago, the country was hit by its third earthquake in a week. The tremors and the aftershakes knocked down entire villages in Zenda Jan district in western Afghanistan. According to the UN’s Children Agency, more than 90% of those killed were women and children.
“The situation has been quite bad but this win brings a smile to our faces and makes us forget our sorrows for a bit,” Asghar further says. “The team should work even harder for the sake of these people. They have the potential to beat more teams, I know that.
“The more they win, the more the mood in this country will change.”
Of course Afghanistan are more than winning in India. Just when Khost had gathered outside on the chowks, their homeboy Mujeeb was in front of the Virat Kohli Pavilion in Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium, part awkward and part overwhelmed while comforting a young fan in tears. “It’s not an Afghan boy, it’s one young Indian boy,” he clarified on Twitter later, although he really didn’t need to. You just have to see how well attended Afghanistan games have been to get a sense of how liked they are around here in India.
No wonder Hashmatullah Shahidi referred to India as “home” thrice in his press conference in Chennai. The way of life in Delhi, where Mujeeb stood and dedicated his award to the earthquake victims back home, is very different to what’s become the norm back home in Khost but one thread ties the two together. Men in both cities gather around on the streets at ten in the night and discuss cricket. And in both the cities, it feels just like Eid.