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Ace spinner hopes the Covid-19 situation improves fast, and Afghanistan get a packed all-format calendar in place

Afghanistan have reached a stage where they are taken seriously by top-drawer oppositions in ODI and T20I because they have played those formats a lot, and therefore learnt and improved, Rashid Khan feels, adding that similar exposure in days' cricket can make the side more competitive in Tests. Afghanistan played their first Test in June 2018, but have played just three Tests after that one, the last in November 2019 - "more than three-to-four Tests a year," is what Khan wants.

"Everyone talks about Test cricket in Afghanistan now. If we play the longer formats, like Tests and ODIs, that is what makes you a better cricketer," Khan told ESPNcricinfo recently, while with Lahore Qalandars in the PSL. "In a shorter format, you don't have much time to reflect on your game, or try to improve, and you don't really understand where and how everything works. In T20s, you hardly get to know yourself.

"When we played in the 2019 World Cup in England, we were struggling with the bat, we didn't know how to do things. But later on, the more we played against the big sides, we started realising what to do and the right shot-selection. That gave us an idea how should we start and build the innings. Latter part of the tournament, we started scoring runs properly, and scored 250-plus in every game.

"That is something the boys are learning, and working on. So if we start playing longer formats, more than three-to-four Tests a year, which is really important for us, it will help the team and the players improve their cricket, especially the youngsters."

Khan is one of the more recognisable around the cricket world because of his exploits in T20 cricket. He became Afghanistan's first IPL millionaire when the Sunrisers Hyderabad used their Right to Match card for him in the January 2018 auction. He is one of the busiest T20 cricketers in the world, and has played for practically every major league there is. Overall, in 249 games, Khan has 344 wickets - the seventh-highest in the world - and in T20 Internationals, 89 from 48 games, only behind Lasith Malinga, Shahid Afridi, Shakib Al Hasan and Tim Southee.

Khan's Test career hasn't gone too badly either, as he has 23 wickets from four games, including three five-fors - one against Ireland in Dehradun and two in one Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram.

"Just imagine, if a youngster is playing a Test against a bigger team, only then he will realise what he needs to do and where he needs to improve," Khan explained. "In T20 cricket, you are just there to swing your bat, and you don't understand much. You either hit it or miss it, and it really doesn't matter if you get out because it's T20 cricket.

"But in Tests, you have to spend time (in the middle), you will be tested thoroughly. It's a test of technique, how mentally strong you are, and even how much passion you have in you, whether you are capable enough to survive and can rescue your team. Test cricket is what makes you a better cricketer and this is where we can get to improve our skills and our cricket in the long run."

Afghanistan will play a two-Test series - their first series of more than one game - against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi starting Tuesday. There has been a long gap between Tests for them, but it hasn't really been in their control because of the Covid-19 situation.

"All the countries have been affected by this pandemic. We had so many series [scheduled] in this period, and most importantly, we missed the T20 World Cup in Australia [scheduled for late 2020], which we were looking forward to playing," Khan said. "It was huge for the youngsters, and they were very keen for it, because we were well prepared for it and it could have changed the image of Afghanistan.

"But it didn't happen because of Covid and also a few of our series were called off, including the big Test against Australia. The Test in Perth was huge for us, and everyone back home was waiting for it. It could have been a historic Test. It is like a dream that comes true for any player to be a part of it. I would have considered myself so lucky to play in Australia against Australia, but this pandemic has really affected us. Hopefully, things are better, and this year is a huge year for us as a team, as a nation, and as players, and we will try our best to deliver."

Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent

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Rashid Khan: Afghanistan need 'more than three to four Tests a year' to become a stronger team - ESPNcricinfo

By ANI

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan boxer Nawid Mohammadi, who left his country and came to India in 2013 because of turmoil back home, said he wants to do well in the sport and make his country proud.

The 17-year-old is currently training in the national capital and will be making his professional boxing debut on May 1 in the featherweight division. The 'India Unleashed' fight night will comprise of 10 fight cards that will include top-20 talents scouted.

The star attractions for the night are going to be Pawan Goyat, Chandni Mehra (featherweight) and Suman Kumari (lightweight). Amidst the three, Goyat will be gunning for a title shot.

"I left my country because of turmoil and came to India with my family and later, I started boxing in 2017. I used to play in my country also, but now I am doing it in India. I want to be a professional boxer so that I can make my country proud," Mohammadi told ANI.

Aspiring to be a world champion, Mohammadi wants to set an example and be a role model to children in India as well as his ancestral country, Afghanistan.

When asked if he would like to return to his country: "Yes, I want to go but now my focus is to do well in boxing. That's my land, and one day, I would love to go back."

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Nawid Mohammadi to embark on boxing career in India after leaving Afghanistan due to turmoil - The New Indian Express

AFG vs Zimbabwe

Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in UAE, 2021, 1st T20I Match

Wed, Mar 17, 2021 (20:30 IST) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Anthony De Mello Trophy, 2021, 4th T20I Match

Thu, Mar 18, 2021 (19:00 IST) at Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad

Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in UAE, 2021, 2nd T20I Match

Fri, Mar 19, 2021 (20:30 IST) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Sri Lanka in West Indies, 2021, 2nd T20I Match

Sat, Mar 6, 2021 at Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua

Sri Lanka beat West Indies by 43 runs

Australia in New Zealand, 2021, 4th T20I Match

Fri, Mar 5, 2021 at Westpac Stadium, Wellington

Australia beat New Zealand by 50 runs

Anthony De Mello Trophy, 2021, 4th Test Match

Thu, Mar 4, 2021 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad

India beat England by an innings and 25 runs

Read more:
Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in United Arab Emirates, 2021 : Live Cricket Scorecard | Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in United Arab Emirates, 2021 Score,...

On paper, the United States is committed to withdrawing its last 2,500 troops from Afghanistan less than 10 weeks from now, on May 1. Thats under a deal the Trump administration made last year with the Taliban, the Islamic guerrilla group fighting the Kabul government.

But its far from certain that will happen. Neither the Taliban, the Afghan government nor the United States have kept all their commitments under the year-old agreement. The Taliban promised to reduce attacks on government troops and civilian officials; it hasnt. The Afghan government promised to enter serious peace talks with the Taliban, but it has dragged its feet. The United States promised to begin lifting international sanctions against the Taliban, but when the war escalated and the peace talks deadlocked, the U.S. held back.

Meanwhile, the Taliban has continued pushing the governments underperforming army out of big swaths of territory. And someone presumably the Taliban has launched a remorseless campaign of assassinations against judges, journalists and teachers, especially women. The Taliban denies responsibility, but few believe the denial.

As a result, President Bidens path toward ending a war that began three presidents ago has grown more difficult.

Now he faces a decision: Should he withdraw most or all of the troops, as candidate Biden said he wanted, at the risk of seeing Afghanistan descend into a bloodbath?

Should he keep the 2,500 troops in place and announce that they will leave as soon peace negotiations are on track, but not before?

Or, as some former officials argue, should Biden send more troops until a final peace settlement is reached a potential recipe for an open-ended stay?

Its tempting for war-weary Americans to look at Afghanistan and say: We lost more than 2,400 troops, we spent more than $2 trillion, and we failed; its time to walk away.

But the United States still has interests in that part of the world, including the containment of Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups roaming the region.

After 19 years, its still worth trying to bring this tragic misadventure to an end in a way that avoids needless damage along the way.

There are three basic options.

One is to stay and perhaps even make the U.S. military presence a little bigger. Thats essentially what a blue-ribbon commission co-chaired by retired Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recommended this month.

We know what will happen if we leave on 1 May, he warned. If we walk away, well leave behind chaos, if not civil war.

He argued that a continued U.S. military presence is critical to inducing the Taliban to negotiate, since getting foreign forces out of Afghanistan has long been the groups top priority.

At the other end of the spectrum, one of Dunfords former advisors, Afghanistan expert Carter Malkasian, says that its past time to get out.

When I look at the costs, leaving now is more compelling than ever before, he told the Washington Post recently. Malkasian argues that keeping U.S. troops in the country is unlikely to persuade the Taliban to enter negotiations as long as theyre making gains on the ground, and the presence of 2,500 U.S. troops hasnt stopped that.

But theres also a middle option: Postpone the withdrawal for six months, negotiate a new timetable for the peace talks, and try a more energetic diplomacy (which has come back into style after four years in the wilderness) including soliciting help from neighboring countries like Russia and China to press the Taliban to negotiate seriously.

The peace process is the best option for a decent outcome, even though its the least likely to succeed, Laurel Miller, a former State Department envoy to Afghanistan, told me. You need a six-month extension to have any possibility of getting it back on track.

The best U.S. leverage over the rebels isnt its military presence, she said; its the ability to show them they will be international pariahs if they seize power by force.

We know that they want to have the sanctions lifted, added Barnett Rubin, another former State Department advisor. We can begin that process as a positive incentive for negotiations.

The extension should be a one-time experiment, not an open-ended stay, he added. If it doesnt begin to work by Nov. 1, then we have to leave. And we have to tell people in advance that thats what were going to do.

That sounds like a sensible answer. After 19 years and more than 2,400 dead, we have no responsibility to continue propping up a government that cant be made to work. But theres still a moral argument for trying to leave the right way for doing what we can to avoid needless chaos on the way out the door.

Six months is not forever. It might just be enough time to give peace negotiations a chance.

Originally posted here:
Column: Can we actually pull out of Afghanistan on time? - Los Angeles Times

There are just 10 weeks left of America's war in Afghanistan at least on paper.

Why it matters: Donald Trump pledged a full troop withdrawal by May 1 as part of a deal struck one year ago with the Taliban. President Biden must now decide whether he can bear the risks of honoring it.

The big picture: Under the deal, the Taliban promised to reduce violence, engage in peace talks with the Afghan government (which was not a party to the Trump-Taliban deal), and ensure that Afghanistan doesnt again become a haven for terror groups like al-Qaeda.

The state of play: The Pentagon has accused the Taliban of shirking its commitments but says the deal remains operative. Biden also kept on the man who negotiated it, Zalmay Khalilzad.

Biden has three broad choices.

1. Get out on time.

2. Pull out of the deal and return to a conditions-based approach.

3. Seek an extension to the deadline and put renewed emphasis on the peace process.

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Biden has only bad options as Afghanistan withdrawal deadline nears - Axios