Bangladesh in fine fettle

Factfile on Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi ahead of the Cricket World Cup which gets underway in India on Thursday:

Name: Hashmatullah Shahidi

Age: 28

Playing role: Batsman

International ODI career

Matches: 64

Runs: 1,175

Highest score: 97 not out

Average: 32.27

100s: 0

50s: 16

-- Named as captain in May 2021, Hashmatullah took over from Asghar Afghan whose second stint in the job lasted just 15 months as the Afghanistan Cricket Board indulged in the captaincy equivalent of musical chairs. Asghar had been replaced for the first time on the eve of the disastrous 2019 World Cup by Gulbadin Naib who oversaw nine defeats in nine games and lasted just six months before Asghar was recalled.

Left-handed batsman Hashmatullah became his country's first Test double centurion when he made an undefeated 200 on debut against India in 2018.

His best ODI score of 97 not out was made against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi in 2018 while two of his 16 half-centuries came in his two most recent matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan at the Asia Cup.

If you can judge a tournament by the number of replica tops sold, the Cricket World Cup in India opening this week already has a winner -- home superstar batsman Virat Kohli.

On the crowded streets outside the world's biggest cricket arena -- the 130,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium, which will host the opening match between defending champions England and New Zealand on Thursday -- hawkers report a brisk trade.

Some customers are snapping up the blue top with the name of England captain Jos Buttler, and others the black shirt of Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson.

But Kohli's Number 18 is the outright winner, sellers said.

"There is a huge demand for T-shirts and caps with Kohli's name," said Saurabh, who goes by one name, selling jerseys outside the stadium in Ahmedabad in Gujarat state.

"He is the star along with (India captain) Rohit Sharma -- and we make lot of money because of them."

Known as "King Kohli" for his prolific run-scoring, the star batsman has amassed 13,083 ODI runs including 47 centuries in 281 matches.

Kohli, 34, remains hugely popular on social media with millions of followers. He is a crowd favourite, and fans have previously crashed through security to touch his feet or take a selfie.

'Crazy about cricket' 

Broadcasters are busy setting up their studios -- with millions in India alone expected to watch live -- while groundstaff labour in blazing 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) heat to get the pitch ready for play.

"People all over Ahmedabad are eagerly awaiting this World Cup," said Ayushi Chain, a local organiser at the stadium, adding that Kohli's presence will attract big crowds including a large "female audience".

The epic tournament features 10 nations playing 48 matches over 46 days at 10 different venues.

The Ahmedabad arena -- nearly a third bigger than the Melbourne Cricket Ground -- will be host to five matches, including the final on November 19.

Organisers and officials say the tournament's blockbuster clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on October 14 at the venue remains the most eagerly awaited match, but that demand is strong for other games too.

"The biggest rush is for the India-Pakistan match, and a lot of people will be coming from overseas," chief executive of the Gujarat Cricket Association Dhiraj Jogani told AFP.

For the opener, England verus New Zealand, Jogani expects "around 70,000 fans", meaning the stadium will be just over half full, although tickets are still on sale.

"There is huge demand for tickets in every match," he added. "Maybe the match involving Afghanistan (against South Africa) would be a bit weak, but for the rest there would be a sizeable number."

Chain said demand for the International Cricket Council's official mascots -- cricketing superheroes "Blaze" and "Tonk" -- had been high.

"There was a craze when they made their appearance at a city mall," she said. "There is excitement among the people, we Gujaratis are crazy about cricket."

'Streets will be packed' 

Many shops around the stadium are readying for the huge crowds.

T-shirt seller Saurabh, currently offering the Kohli jerseys for 300 rupees ($3.60), said prices will surge.

"The price will double as the India-Pakistan match approaches", he said. "These streets will be packed."

Tea-seller Vijay, who uses only one name, has just finished refurbishing his stall opposite the stadium's main gate, where he swiftly pours cup after cup of super-sweet and milky tea.

Vijay said around "30,000 policemen" had his tea when the stadium was opened by then US president Donald Trump during a rally with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020.

"I expect a lot of police personnel to be deployed here, especially for the India-Pakistan match," said Vijay. "They all will have tea at my shop."

Factfile on England captain Jos Buttler ahead of the Cricket World Cup which gets underway in India on Thursday:

Name: Jos Buttler

Age: 33

Playing role: Wicketkeeper batsman

International ODI career

Matches: 169

Runs: 4,823

Highest score: 162 not out

Average: 41.57

100s: 11

50s: 25

Catches: 211

Stumpings: 35

-- One of the cleanest hitters in world cricket, Buttler took over as England's white-ball captain last year following the retirement of Eoin Morgan, leading the team to the T20 World Cup title in his first major tournament as skipper.

While his Test career eventually fizzled out after a surprise recall in 2018, the softly-spoken Buttler's explosiveness with the bat has elevated him to the very top in the game's shorter formats.

Vice-captain at an unhappy 2015 World Cup, Buttler played a starring role in the final four years later -- making 59 off 60 balls in a vital stand with Ben Stokes, before adding crucial runs in the Super Over and sealing victory by completing the run-out of Martin Guptill.

Factfile on South Africa captain Temba Bavuma ahead of the Cricket World Cup which gets underway in India on Thursday:

Name: Temba Bavuma

Age: 33

Playing role: Batsman

International ODI career

Matches: 30

Runs: 1,367

Highest score: 144

Average: 54.68

100s: 5

50s: 4

-- Patience and history-making seem to be two cornerstones of Bavuma's career.

He made history when he became the first Black South African to score a Test hundred, against England in 2016. But he needed patience over the next seven years, two months and 88 innings as he waited for his second Test ton.

He needed patience with his ODI career as well. It started in 2016 with a century against Ireland but his second ODI came a year later in October 2017, when he scored 48.

He had to wait even longer, almost two and a half years, to play his third in February 2020 - he celebrated his recall with 98 against England. Bavuma then took over as ODI captain in March 2021.

At five foot three, he lacks the brute power of many ODI thrashers - but he has timing and technique.

A top order regular he opened against Australia in September and carried his bat for an unbeaten 114.

In a central Kabul street, the sound of kids playing was once mostly the scuff of a football against concrete. Now, it is punctuated with the crack of a cricket bat.

From pickup games in dusty parks or narrow alleys to high-intensity training at well-kitted academies, young Afghans have cricket fever -- a trend spiked by the surprise performance of the Afghan national team at the recent ODI World Cup.

"I'm crazy for cricket," said 19-year-old Shamsullah Mangal, who trains at a privately funded academy, having been inspired to take up the sport by national team player Rashid Khan.

Since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the sport has emerged as a rare arena of national unity, with the Afghanistan Cricket Board working hard to expand facilities, giving young players a route to potential sporting stardom.

"Cricket in Afghanistan has a shorter history compared to other countries, but Afghanistan has great natural talents," Mangal told AFP.

"If players are supported, and facilities are provided, we will see a great Afghan team in future."

Cricket was first popularised in Afghanistan around two decades ago, when refugees who fled war to established cricket-playing countries brought it home.

Now, the sport's popularity is skyrocketing.

"Afghanistan cricket is not just a sport anymore, it has turned into an industry," said former cricket board CEO Lutfullah Stanikzai.

Decades of war and meagre economic resources, however, pose major funding and infrastructure challenges, with the isolation of the Taliban government on the world stage creating still other hurdles.

'Only cricket represents us' 

Even at the well-funded Mohammad Mirza Katawazai Cricket Centre, trainees have to head to Pakistan when Kabul's harsh winter hits, as the club's indoor training facilities are still under construction.

With much stacked against the Afghan national squad, wins against several top teams in their most-successful-ever World Cup in November were all the sweeter: none as much as the one against Pakistan.

"Had they won the (World Cup) trophy, it would not have made me as happy as when Afghanistan won against Pakistan," said Hezbullah Fateh, a spectator at a recent regional match.

Pakistan was one of the countries where Afghans first fell for the game, but the nations' relations have long been fraught.

Since October, thousands of Afghans have fled Pakistan to avoid deportation after Islamabad ordered all undocumented migrants to leave.

After the World Cup win, Afghanistan's captain dedicated the win to those returning.

"These days, only cricket represents us on the international stage and presents a good image of us," said Zeeshan Shaheir, another match attendee.

'Dream and ambition' 

Senior officials in the Taliban government have embraced the national team's success, holding receptions for the players after tournaments and even posting on social media to salute their victories.

With the Taliban authority's tacit approval, the team still uses the flag of the old republican government as an emblem, even though it has been replaced everywhere else in public by the armed group's black-and-white standard.

That support only extends to the men's team, however. Women have been barred from most aspects of public life -- including sports -- since the Taliban took power.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is funded by contributions from the sport's governing body the International Cricket Council, sponsorships and government funding.

The ACB has 25 academies around the country and is building more, spokesman Sayed Naseem Sadaat told AFP, with private companies running many more.

The board has also been granted land to build a "huge" cricket complex in Kabul, with construction slated to start next year, Sadaat said.

It will be the kind of arena Mangal dreams of playing in, as he works at a shop to support his training and hopes to one day put on the national jersey.

The rewards can be life-changing.

Spinner Rashid Khan, Afghanistan's top player and one of the best in the world, earned $1.8 million playing for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League this year.

That was on top of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he earned playing in leagues elsewhere in the world, often joined by his national teammates.

"This is my dream and ambition to play one day for the national team and achieve great things for Afghanistan," said Mangal.