CHENNAI: Starting to play cricket during Covid lockdown against the wishes of his father to missing out on an opportunity to turn up for Mumbai Indians as a net bowler and now in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement all at 16, Afghanistan's Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar's life in the past four years has been nothing short of a fairy tale.
Having started to play cricket only in 2020, Allah was more than happy to be a net bowler with the Mumbai franchise when their head coach Mark Boucher spotted him ahead of the 2024 season. The five-time champions even sent a car for Allah to travel to Abu Dhabi from Dubai where he was with the U-19 national team for the Asia Cup in December last year.
As luck would have it, he was denied the visa as the authorities concerned apparently said a net bowler cannot be given an Indian visa as a player. As the saying goes, everything happens for a reason and in this case, a better option was in the store for Allah. Days after missing the opportunity to bowl at MI stars in the nets, Allah was named replacement for compatriot Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the KKR squad on Thursday. He has been signed by the two-time champions for his base price of Rs 20 lakh.
"KKR CEO called him yesterday (Wednesday). It was a moment to cherish for all of us," Atta Mohammad Ghazanfar, Allah's elder brother, told this daily from Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. A mystery spinner, Allah made his international debut early this month when he played an ODI for Afghanistan against Ireland in Sharjah. The 16-year-old right-arm off-break bowler has played two ODIs, three T20s and six List A matches so far.
Elder brother's role
Had it not been Atta, Allah would not have been playing cricket as their father Khayal Mohammad Ghazanfar was dead against a career in sports. "I started playing around eight years ago and played club cricket with players like Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Mujeeb, who went on to represent the country."
And it was Gurbaz, the KKR wicketkeeper-batter, who recommended Allah's name after Mujeeb was ruled out. "Earlier, we (Gurbaz and me) were in regular touch but once he started playing international cricket, he got busy. I am grateful to him that he recommended Allah's name to KKR," said Atta.
The family, comprising parents, six brothers and four sisters, might be happy with their youngest member set to play for a franchise in the biggest T20 league of the world but it was not the case when Allah first held the ball in his hand.
"My father always wanted his children to excel in academics. In our society, people are not very familiar with cricket. My father used to believe that cricket was a waste of time. He even termed me the biggest enemy of my brother when I initiated Allah into cricket," reminisced Atta with a smile.
The resentment and dislike for the sport, however, is a thing of the past as the Ghazanfar family is busy celebrating Allah's call-up with the father being the most proud member.
Atta played as a right-hand batter before becoming manager of various clubs including the legendary Mohammad Mirza Katawazai Cricket Center. In the beginning, Allah used to be a pacer but one of his coaches, Roze Khan, asked him to bowl spin. Allah transformed into a spinner like a fish to water. "When he bowled to international stars of Afghanistan they were impressed with his spinning ability. I told him to master the art of spin and try to include every variation in his arsenal. He is a quick learner and did it with ease. The result is here today for everyone to see."
Big fan of Ashwin
Afghanistan has produced world-class spinners like Rashid Khan and Mujeeb but Allah is a big fan of India's spin maestro Ravichandran Ashwin. "Ashwin is his role model as he believes the Indian spinner has more variations than his counterparts across the globe. He wants to emulate him and this IPL can give him an opportunity to meet and learn from his idol."
Ghazanfars moved from Paktia to Kabul before Khayal Mohammad joined the family business of furniture in Saudi Arabia. However, never in his imagination, he had ever thought that one of his sons would go on to play cricket for the country. The father might not have given a thought to the idea but Atta was always sure that his younger brother would not only play cricket but also feature in the IPL.
"When he started, I told him that one day he would play in the IPL like other Afghan cricketers. He thought I was joking but I was serious. He always had that talent. The only thing I demanded from him was to train with full dedication. I tried to give him everything that international cricketers from our country were using including shoes and kits. I used to buy 30 balls every month so that he could practice with new balls and have the old balls as well when needed. The hard work we put in paid dividends as he is not only playing for Afghanistan but will also make his IPL debut soon."
Currently, Allah is attending a high-performance camp being held for Afghanistan players in the country but the teenager might be desperately waiting for his visa to join his newest team. And who knows the fairy tale will continue when he rolls his arm over for Kolkata in the next few days.