Champions Trophy 2025: Afghan delight as Ibrahim Zadran and Azmatullah Omarzai roast England | Opinion

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Afghanistan makes news headlines for political reasons. That is, if you follow geopolitics. On Wednesday night, their cricketers added a new dimension to what Afghanistan means in terms of fighting skills.

The underdogs showed pedigree and purpose, bit the Englishmen and bled them to death in the Champions Trophy 2025. Before you jump and think the reference to Afghanistan cricketers is in a derogatory sense, no, they showed great intent and played with pride to defeat England by a wafer-thin margin. The eight-run win in a high-scoring, high-stakes match may seem like a narrow one but that would be wrong.

The way Afghanistan played was adrenaline-felted, tearing to shreds the reputation of the Englishmen. Before the match, there was chatter if England should even play Afghanistan due to political reasons. Come on, you cannot offer weak reasons. Either one is steadfast like India and refuse to travel to Pakistan or just play the ICC events. For Engand to think Afghanistan as a nation disrespects women and atrocities are perpetuated upon them is meaningless. The Englishmen no longer rule the world. And in cricket as well, they have collapsed. This was not the first time they were defeated by Afghanistan, it happened before as well in 2023.

Cricket is, indeed, a team sport. Yet, on magical nights there are moments when a few men stand out in shining armour. The way hero Ibrahim Zadran, just 23, batted was a sheer delight. This young man is just 23. Returning from a long injury lay-off, he crafted an innings which was monumental in many ways. His 177 runs off 146 balls is one of the best ODI knocks and will go down in record books as an innings where an unknown man turned maestro. There was no hesitancy. He spoke of pressure and how he deals with it. Proof was the runs he scored.

The Afghani mindset was on view, soak in the pressure like a sponge, ride on it and hammer the hell out of the rival bowlers. Reputations were destroyed as Zadran, who speaks decent English, hammered the daylights out of Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and company in an innings where the template was intent and being fearless. He did not, for once, show any signs of nerve. The best of the batters can get overwhelmed after scoring a ton. No, Zadran batted for the Afghan team, so many folks back home went into delirium after the win.

If the streets of Kabul turned into one of joy and the men who run the State are hated for being a radical state also enjoyed this win, a clear message has gone out. Political turmoil, as perceived by the Western world, has not affected Afghanistan cricket at all. If Zadran was the destroyer, what does one say about Azmatullah Omarzai, who grabbed five wickets with his fast-medium variety. What does one say about two teams who are so different and yet the 'weaker' team peaks.

The Englishmen have been the founding fathers of white-ball cricket. In contrast, Afghanistan are intensely passionate about cricket. They are not spoilt by riches and more, they perform. For the cricketers to accept normalcy at home in a political sense will not be so easy, they play cricket with purpose. On Wednesday night, for Afghanistan to beat England in Pakistan has become the biggest news. Imagine, they have risen from the sub-continent like warriors, even as hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh have been booted out from the Champions Trophy 2025.