Afghanistan have the ability to improve but need our helping hand

Afghanistan will need more opportunities to horn their skills in the longer version of cricket

Bengaluru, June 15: After wrapping up the Test against Afghanistan inside two days here on Friday (June 15), India extended a beautiful gesture asking the visiting side to pose with them with the trophy.

It was the continuation of the warmth Afghanistan have been experiencing before and during their maiden Test. But a point will soon come when the exuberance of Test debut will be replaced with the need to put in a concrete plan to give more opportunities for Afghanistan in longer version of cricket.

Afghanistan have showed at the M Chinnaswamy stadium that they have required skills when it comes to bowling. The way they fought back on Day 1 after Shikhar Dhawan, who made a hundred in the first session itself, and M Vijay piled runs in the morning passage was exceptional. In that Afghanistan have a massive advantage because they have a very fine bowling unit to work with. Spinners Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Zadran and pacer Wafadar held their own in their first Test against a formidable side like India.

But Day 2 was of reality check for Afghanistan. Their batsmen were caved in twice within a day in just over 66 overs. It was rather expected too because of their inexperience in the longer format as Afghanistan have a combined first-class experience of 157 matches.

They were just not up to the scratch to match the ebb and flow of Test cricket and survive some top quality bowling. They will not be playing India anytime soon in Test cricket as per the ICC FTP and their impending assignment is a three-match one-day series against Ireland. Afghanistan's next upper-tier Test opponent is Australia but their home and away one-match series will take place in 2020 and 2022. Afghanistan will play a Test each against England and Bangladesh while their longest assignments will come against Ireland (5 Tests) and Zimbabwe (4 Tests).

That is much slower when compared to previous three entrants to the Test club. In the same time span as Afghanistan, Bangladesh played 40 Tests while Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe played 24 each. Of course, we have to consider the fact that there will be the ICC 50-over World Cup in 2019 and the Test Championship succeeds the showpiece event immediately. So there is little room to manevour.

But the bottomline is that the gap between those matches is too wide and there is no real chance for Afghanistan to build on their first Test and the lessons learned. Perhaps, the powers that be can think of allowing Afghanistan to participate in domestic circuits around the world so that they can keep themselves in sync with the longer version.

The lack of cricket and related infrastructure back home have forced Afghanistan players to don the garb of a bunch of nomad cricketers and their temporary home is now India. They have already faced Bangladesh in Dehradun in a T20I series and the authorities can think of extending that by allowing them to take part in one of the domestic tournaments.

Perhaps, Duleep Trophy, a tournament that does not have a permanent slot in the Indian domestic calendar, could be a good platform for them to horn their skills in the longer version. Giving Test status and Test debut to Afghanistan have been progressive steps for sure but it is as much significant to keep them inside the fold. Without that this will remain just that - a fancy, sentimental move.