PakPassion presents an exclusive interview with Afghanistan all rounder Mohammad Nabi.
Nabi, a hard hitting middle order batsman and off spin bowler is an integral part of the current and vastly improving Afghanistan team.
He played a major role in Afghanistan's progress to the World Cup Qualifiers in South Africa in 2009. Nabi struck 58 against Scotland on one-day international debut and 102 in his first first-class game for Afghanistan, against a Zimbabwe XI.
Nabi was the leading wicket-taker at the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers in 2010, picking up 13 wickets at 10.53 to play an important role in Afghanistan's success in the tournament.
He has previously played for the MCC and recently featured against England for the ICC Combined XI and for Afghanistan versus Pakistan at a packed Sharjah stadium.
By Pakpassion Staff (7th March 2012)
PakPassion.net: It's common knowledge that your early life was in a refugee camp in Pakistan - How did your interest in cricket develop at the camp?
Mohammad Nabi: : Pakistan had just won the 1992 World Cup, so at that time there was a lot of focus on cricket. I was in school at that time, and was playing cricket in school. My older brothers and cousins (we had a large family in the camp ? almost 100-150!) and watching them play really got me interested.
PakPassion.net: Typically aspiring cricketers from Pakistan and Afghanistan want to become either fast bowlers or batsmen. How did you end up becoming a spinner?
Mohammad Nabi: : I used to be a fast bowler and a batsman. I had always wanted to be a fast bowler, however, I had some issues with my back as a result of fast bowling and because of that I left that and became a spinner.
PakPassion.net: Did you have the support of your family when you told them that you wanted to be a professional cricketer. Typically, most parents in our culture want their children to pursue their further education and become doctors, engineers, etc. So did you have the support of your family when they learned you wanted to be a professional cricketer?
Mohammad Nabi: : To be honest, I never thought about becoming a professional cricketer. It was a passion and something that I really enjoyed and it was fun. We played a lot of tape-ball cricket when I was young. I would say my family were never too keen on me playing cricket. Whenever I would go out to play cricket, I would get scolded by my mother. When we moved back to Afghanistan, the family started accepting this a lot better.
PakPassion.net: Who were your favourite cricketers when you were younger and first started playing cricket?
Mohammad Nabi: : At that time, it was every Pakistani player that was playing well. Pakistan was the team to watch. I did not have a particular favourite Pakistani cricketer, just whoever was playing well. At the moment though, I would say Kevin Pietersen is my favourite cricketer at the moment and I love the way he strikes the cricket ball so cleanly
PakPassion.net: What age did you return to Afghanistan from Pakistan?
Mohammad Nabi: : I returned to Afghanistan in 2003 when I was aged 18.
PakPassion.net: When returning to Afghanistan were you playing club cricket?
Mohammad Nabi: : I had played all of my club cricket in Peshawar and began training at Arshad Khan's academy in Peshawar. When I moved back to Afghanistan, I played cricket in the academy there.
PakPassion.net: There is a lot of talk about the doosra and its legitimacy in the press. Bowlers like Saeed Ajmal and Muralitharan have used this delivery quiet effectively over the years. What are your thoughts on the legitimacy of this delivery and can you bowl a doosra?
Mohammad Nabi: : The Doosra is a good secret weapon that bowlers these days have in their armor. It makes it difficult for the batsman to play and attack the bowler when this delivery is bowled, so I think this is definitely a good delivery for any spinner to have, especially an off-spinner. If you don't have these sort of deliveries, it makes you as a bowler very predictable and extremely easy for the batsman to attack you.
I don't bowl the doosra very often because I haven't perfected its execution and its quite often off-target. However, I am working on getting this right.
PakPassion.net: So what's the plan then? Would you like for me to pass on Saeed Ajmal's number to you? (laughs)
Mohammad Nabi: : (laughs) I have actually talked to Saeed Ajmal many times about the doosra and how to bowl it. He bowls the doosra using a different finger while I use the grip finger to bowl it. Since he uses a different finger to bowl the doosra, it makes it very difficult to bowl it like he does.
PakPassion.net: It's a difficult delivery to bowl. There are many spinners in international cricket who can't bowl it, like Graeme Swann?
Mohammad Nabi: : Yes, that is definitely correct. It's a very difficult delivery to perfect and it takes years of hard work to master it. Not many bowl this delivery correctly.
PakPassion.net: You played league cricket in England. Where did you play and how was your experience? How long did you play there?
Mohammad Nabi: : I played league cricket in England ans also joined the MCC in 2006 and played there till 2009. During that time, I played against England and India. In 2010, I also played against Pakistan at Lords. It was a good experience for me and the MCC have been very supportive of Hamid Hassan and me, which I am very thankful to them for.
PakPassion.net: I believe Mike Gatting spotted you. Is that correct?
Mohammad Nabi: : Yes, in 2006 Mike Gatting spotted both Hamid and me. I scored a 39-ball century in India while playing for the MCC which included 13 sixes. That is when the MCC decided to select me.
PakPassion.net: Are you still in contact with Mike Gatting?
Mohammad Nabi: : No, I don't have any contact with him at the moment, but I'll always be very grateful for his help.
PakPassion.net: How is the domestic cricketing structure in Afghanistan? Do you have club cricket?
Mohammad Nabi: : The cricketing structure has developed now. It's definitely improving. We now have three-day, one-day, and T20 matches. There is also club cricket and cricket at school level.
PakPassion.net: How is the standard of domestic cricket? Is it improving? Do you and the other players from the Afghanistan team play domestic cricket?
Mohammad Nabi: : This year we held a three-day camp and made five regional teams. We divided the international players up into each regional team and we had a pretty successful tournament.
Cricket is definitely improving in Afghanistan, it's becoming increasingly popular and a lot of effort and work is being put in to make this happen. We now have two international grounds and currently there are a few indoor academies that are being built in Kabul. I am confident that by 2015 Afghanistan cricket will have improved tremendously.
PakPassion.net: Are there any upcoming players from Afghanistan that you believe could be a good future player for the Afghanistan team?
Mohammad Nabi: : Yes, there are a couple that I would say. We selected them for some of the T20 camps that we had. They are : Shabbir Noori, Javed Ahmadi, and Izzatullah, who is a fast bowler.
There are a lot of promising youngsters and our goal should be that we give them exposure and support them. In general, a lot more people are playing cricket and if we can provide them with facilities, it will help to develop the talent.
PakPassion.net: Are facilities improving in the Afghanistan domestic structure, such as the grounds?
Mohammad Nabi: : Yes, most definitely. There are two international grounds that have already been built, in Jalalabad and Kabul. There are also other that are currently being built in other cities (Khost and Kunduz).
PakPassion.net: What are your thoughts about having international cricket matches in Afghanistan? I'm sure you wish to see an Afghanistan vs Pakistan, Afghanistan vs India, or any other international being played in Afghanistan in future?
Mohammad Nabi: : I never imagined that I would be playing for Afghanistan against Pakistan and India. Even in the recent match against Pakistan in the UAE, we all were saying that we used to support the Pakistan team and now we are playing a match against them, where we are bowling and batting against our heroes. It was definitely a weird feeling I would say.
PakPassion.net: Playing matches away from home is different from playing at home. Would you like to play and see international matches being hosted in various cities of Afghanistan?
Mohammad Nabi: : InshaAllah, that day will come soon when international teams will visit Afghanistan and play matches there. Afghanistan is now a pretty stable country. The media has blown things out of proportion regarding the situation there. If you visit Afghanistan, you will see that it is nothing like what the media is describing it as.
PakPassion.net: You must be pleased with the amount of help and support being offered to Afghanistan cricket by the ICC. What more do you think the ICC can do for Afghanistan cricket?
Mohammad Nabi: The ICC can do a lot for Afghanistan cricket. We have the One Day International status now, so the ICC should give Afghanistan more and more international fixtures against full-member teams.
The Asia Cup is coming up, but Afghanistan is not a part of it. We have the One Day International status, yet we are not going to feature in the Asia Cup. This is really disappointing, and it is unexplainable. Our team should have been a part of the Asia Cup. How are we going to improve if we do not play against these teams? The ICC should do more for us and give more international games to us.
PakPassion.net: You are absolutely right. Bangladesh have been playing international cricket for such a long time now. But they haven?t shown any significant improvement. It must be frustrating for you that Afghanistan is not getting many chances while Bangladesh is?
Mohammad Nabi: That?s right. If you look in Europe with countries like Ireland and Scotland ? any full-member team that tours England for a series definitely plays One Day Internationals or T20s against Holland, Ireland or Scotland.
Similarly, the ICC should make sure that any team that comes to Asia for a series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan or India, also plays One Day Internationals or T20s against Afghanistan.
PakPassion.net: The 2010 T20 World Cup in the West Indies must have been a wonderful experience?
Mohammad Nabi: It was a really good experience because we were playing for the first time against full member teams in the T20 format and it was the first time that our matches were being televised live. There was a lot of pressure ? the pressure of the crowd and the pressure of the cameras, yet our boys performed very well for a first time. Insha?Allah if we qualify for the World T20 this year, we will give a tough time to the full member teams.
PakPassion.net: ?Out of the Ashes? ? the documentary film on Afghanistan cricket is one of my favourite films. What is Taj Malik doing these days? Is he still involved in Afghanistan cricket?
Mohammad Nabi: No, I don?t think he is. I think he has given up cricket. He worked very hard for Afghanistan cricket. He brought all the currently popular players for Afghanistan - Hamid, myself and three or four other players ? he brought all of us. He worked really hard with us, and I?m extremely grateful to him. I think he has given up cricket now and taken up the path of the religion [Tableegh].
PakPassion.net: Kabir Khan is coming back as coach. When is he starting? You must be excited that he is coming back.
Mohammad Nabi: Yes, I?m very happy. Kabir Khan is still in Kabul. He held a press conference recently and announced that he is joining Afghanistan cricket again. We'll be getting together with Kabir in Dubai.
PakPassion.net: Is there a training camp being held in Dubai?
Mohammad Nabi: Yes, it?s preparation for the qualifying round for the World T20 Qualifiers. Then we will play a First Class match and two One Day Internationals against the Netherlands.
PakPassion.net: What about Allah Dad, the first captain of Afghanistan? Is he still involved in cricket?
Mohammad Nabi: No, he is not involved either. I think he has also given up cricket.
PakPassion.net:Has Khaliq Dad retired or does he still play?
Mohammad Nabi: I think he still plays, but it?s difficult for him to break into the international team as there are a lot of good players around these days.
PakPassion.net: You spend a lot of time in the UAE. Do you play domestic cricket or club cricket in the UAE?
Mohammad Nabi: No, this time I only played in the KPL that was being played in Dubai. I was playing for the Wayanad Highlanders. We lost the final recently. It was being played for the first time and I joined it. It was a really good experience and I enjoyed it.
PakPassion.net: There is a question for you. I don?t know if you know the answer to it ? why is the Afghanistan shirt blue in colour? Who chose the colour?
Mohammad Nabi: Oh, that I don?t know. I think all our sports players and all those who participate in the Olympics wear blue.
PakPassion.net: Which other sports besides cricket draws interest in Aghanistan?
Mohammad Nabi: Football is an emerging sport. We played the final of the SAF games against India in India. Boxing and Taekwondo are also emerging sports. The players are being supported and that?s why these games are emerging there.
PakPassion.net: If you get a chance to play domestic cricket in Pakistan, would you be interested to play?
Mohammad Nabi: I played in Pakistan First Class cricket for Pakistan Customs. I played for three years - in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
PakPassion.net: Did you play the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy or the One Day tournament?
Mohammad Nabi: I have played both, the Quaid-e-Azam Trohy as well as the One Day tournaments and would love to play in those competitions again if given the opportunity.
PakPassion.net: What are your future plans and ambitions for yourself personally and Afghanistan?
Mohammad Nabi: First of all, Inshallah we will work hard to qualify for the T20 and ODI World Cup. After that we will try and achieve Test status, and that will bring me and my team mates and the people of Aghanistan a lot of happiness. It's just the start of the cricketing journey for Afghanistan and we are very excited about this journey.
PakPassion.net: Have you ever considered captaining the Afghanistan team in future?
Mohammad Nabi: Captaincy - It?s a lot of stress and I don?t think so.
PakPassion.net: Many thanks for your time and best wishes for the future
Mohammad Nabi: My pleasure.
