India-Afghanistan cricketing bond celebrated at ‘Koh-E-Zafar’

‘Koh-E-Zafar’ event in New Delhi underscores deep-rooted cricketing friendship and mutual respect between India and Afghanistan, and significant impact of Indian cricket on Afghan players.

IMAGE: India head coach Gautam Gambhir is felicitated during the Koh-E-Zafar event hosted by Afghanistan Cricket Board in Delhi on Wednesday. Photograph: Afghanistan Cricket Board/X

The Afghanistan Cricket Board hosted ‘Koh-E-Zafar’ (Mountain of Triumph) – a special event, bringing together officials from the ACB, Board of Control for Cricket in India, along with Indian and Afghan cricketers.

The special evening celebrated the long-standing history and friendship between both the boards while recognising the shared cricketing journey and strong relationship that has developed between the two cricketing nations over the years.

Celebrating A Shared Cricketing Journey

IMAGE: India captain Shreyas Iyer with Afghanistan skipper Ibrahim Zadran. Photograph: Afghanistan Cricket Board/X

India and Afghanistan are currently engaged in a three-match T20 International series.

India have already sealed the series by winning the first two matches. The third and final T20I is scheduled for Thursday, at the at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.

‘Koh-E-Zafar’, an Afghan-themed event, brought this spirit of friendship to life through a series of special moments during the evening.

The programme included an opening address and audio-video celebrating the shared cricketing journey, an exchange of gifts between Afghan and Indian players as a token of friendship, followed by an interactive conversation featuring players from both sides.

The ACB also felicitated BCCI’s leadership in recognition of the enduring cricketing relationship.

Players Reflect On Strong Bonds

IMAGE: Afghanistan’s Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi and Ibrahim Zadran. Photograph: Afghanistan Cricket Board/X

Speaking at the event, India’s T20I team skipper Shreyas Iyer praised Afghanistan’s fighting spirit and the strong relationship between the two teams. He said he had spoken to Ibrahim Zadran, who was disappointed by the series loss, but remained eager to improve and compete.

Iyer added that India enjoys playing Afghanistan, describing their encounters as competitive and appreciating their hunger to win.

“They are indomitable in their approach, and whenever they step onto the field, they always put the fight on with a smiling face. So, it’s obviously a great relationship and interaction which we have with them whenever they come to India, or we meet them in any of the ICC events,” he said.

“I had a brief interaction with Ibrahim as well yesterday. He was quite hungry and disappointed as well that they lost the series, but you could see the hunger that they wanted to win. They want to go ahead and improve their skills as much as possible.

“So, yeah, it’s always a nice gesture when they come in here and perform to the best of their abilities and see to it that, you know, they win; they want to win the series. So I’m glad that we get this opportunity to play with them now and then, and it’s a competitive series overall,” he added.

IMAGE: Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma. Photograph: Afghanistan Cricket Board/X

Shreyas Iyer praised the growing relationship between India and Afghanistan, highlighting the support Indian and Afghan fans have shown both teams over the years. He also lauded Afghanistan’s skill and talent, saying consistent wins would help build their confidence and enable them to rise further in international cricket.

“I want to say that the relationship since the time we’ve been playing cricket against Afghanistan, it has blossomed over the years, and the love and support we have been getting from Afghan fans as well, especially when we travel outside for games.

“It’s been commendable, and my one message is that I don’t think that we need to give them a message because all of them are so skillful and talented in their own way. It’s just that, you know, once they start winning the matches, they’ll keep building confidence, and yes, they are playing at the highest level. We’ve seen in the past how good they are as a team.

“It’s just about the time; once they start winning consistently, you know, definitely they would be coming up the ranks,” he added.

India As A Home For Afghan Cricket

Meanwhile, Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi said playing in India, including in the Indian Premier League, has provided him and his teammates valuable experience.

He added that Afghanistan have fond memories of playing in India and are always happy to compete in the country.

“It’s helped a lot since 2017 (playing in India); we played IPL and started there. Before 2016, we played the World Cup there, and we won one game against West Indies, and West Indies won the World Cup, and we just, yeah, it’s always a pleasure to play there, and we get a lot of experience from playing IPL. We are really happy always to play in India,” he said.

India has been a ‘home’ venue for Afghan cricket over the years, with the team playing quite a few home series in the country in the past. Over the years, the cricketing synergies have grown, Afghanistan playing its first-ever Test match against India at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in June 2018.

The historic match marked Afghanistan’s entry into Test cricket – an occasion that was significant not only for Afghanistan’s cricketing journey but also a reflection of the strong relationship between the two cricket boards.

Ibrahim Zadran said Afghanistan have received strong support from fans in Delhi and across India over the years. He expressed gratitude for the love and encouragement they continue to receive whenever they play in the country, saying it means a lot to the team.

“If you look at the past, we have got lots of support from people of Delhi when we had games here, and now we are playing against India. We all know that, but we are still getting that support from them, and I would say whenever I come to India, come to Delhi, we get lots of love and support from the people, from the fans of Delhi, from the people of India. We always appreciate that; we always enjoy that. It means a lot to us,” he said.

Several Afghan cricketers have also been part of the Indian Premier League. The likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammed Nabi, Noor Ahmad, and Azmatullah Omarzai have enthralled fans; their electric performances have made them household names in India, which shows the widespread respect and affection they command.

Ishan Kishan praised Afghanistan’s players for their competitive spirit and said India’s familiarity with them through the IPL makes the contests enjoyable. He highlighted his experience playing alongside Mohammad Nabi at Mumbai Indians, noting that Nabi helped him during batting sessions, and said the hunger Afghanistan shows on the field makes every encounter a valuable learning experience.

“It’s always fun playing against them because we have also played in IPL together, and we all know how good human beings they are as well. So it’s always a good learning with them.

“I’ve played with Nabi bhai in Mumbai Indians, and he used to help me a lot during batting sessions as well, you know, how he was planning to bowl against them. So it’s everything is on the positive side, so we always love to play against the Afghanistan team,” he said.

Future Of Afghan Cricket And Bilateral Ties

The Afghanistan Premier League (APL) trophy was also on display during the evening, adding to the celebration of Afghanistan’s cricketing journey.

The growth of Afghan cricket in recent years is reflected in the launch of APL, highlighting the country’s growing cricketing talent and the continued development of the sport. The league is slated to begin on December 27, 2026; the upcoming season is set to feature five teams.

The event also saw the launch of the Suzuki Cup India-Japan trophy.