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Voice of Afghan cricket lights up World Twenty20

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Alison Mitchell | 06:45 UK time, Friday, 7 May 2010

A slightly built young man wearing jeans and a blue polo shirt stepped forward into the commentary box with an eager smile and extended a hand to shake.

Twenty-six years ago, Mohammed Ibrahim was born in the Nasir Bagh refugee camp on the edge of .

Now he is the voice of Afghanistan cricket, and has described, in , every ball of their incredible experience to a captivated a passionate audience back home.

His eyes lit up as we began to chat and he explained how, after his family had moved out of Nasir Bagh in 2000, he got involved with the radio station , which translates to "Hello Countrymen", picked up by 38 independently owned community radio stations around the country, making Ibrahim almost as well known as the cricketers themselves as Afghans huddle around radios straining their ears to pick up news of their new-found heroes.

"My father got a job with the and so we moved from Peshawar to Kabul in 2003," he told me.

"My father has two wives, I have nine sisters and four brothers. After two years I got a job with in Kabul. I was working as a translator, translating documentaries into Pashto - I speak Urdu, English, Arabic and Persian."

"I first read about the Afghan cricket team in the newspapers, and, from 2005 to 2009, I was reporting on them for Shamshad. Then suddenly I got a phone call from my current radio manager asking if I wanted to work for them."

ali_m_blog595.jpg
Mohammed Ibrahim (right) with the Internews team during Afghanistan's match against South Africa

The organisation Ibrahim is referring to is , an international media development organisation, which aims to empower people by sharing and making information accessible through journalism.

Programmes, including Ibrahim's cricket commentaries, are produced on a daily basis and are picked up by the various stations and broadcast around the nation.

"I received a call from my friend after the India game telling me how many people have been listening back home," he laughed. "I can't believe how my ugly voice gets on radio!"

Like many of the Afghanistan team, Ibrahim's knowledge and love of the game comes from playing in the dust of the refugee camp and following the fortunes of Pakistan as he was growing up.

"My first live television game was in 1999," he enthused. "A friend of my uncle had a TV and we travelled to his house to watch . We could only watch the first innings as we had a long way to go home.

"We were certain Pakistan would win (they posted 275-8 in the group game), and only heard the result once we got home. That was my first live cricket on television.

"When we got older we all wanted to be . We loved his batting style. We wanted to be Afridi but we had no opportunities and no facilities for us to play cricket."

Instead, once he moved to Kabul, Ibrahim would watch the students playing at the near where he lived and sometimes fetched balls for them. That is, when he wasn't working, studying or spending time praying.

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American Keith Roznowski is the programme manager for Internews in Afghanistan and joined Salam Watandar's four-man team in the Caribbean, along with Ibrahim, technical manager Khalil Sadat and Momtaz Shah, another producer who also commentates in .

"The illiteracy rate is so high in Afghanistan, which is why radio is so important. Most people have access to it, while TVs are only in the major cities."

Ibrahim tries to watch television when he gets the chance and absorbs cricket and commentary like a sponge.

"Every day I learn something from senior commentators. I listen, then I translate it into Pashto in my head to make my commentary come alive. I love , , and ."

Until he began travelling with the Afghan team, Ibrahim had never been beyond the borders of Afghanistan or Pakistan. When I asked him what strikes him most about Barbados, his response reflected his own humility and human warmness.

"It's the hospitality. It's not new for me to be sitting here watching cricket. What's new for me is sitting here in the West Indies with their hospitality and their behaviour. They're so friendly. It's like a dream that I'm in St Lucia and Barbados."

Unfortunately the dream of the Afghanistan team ended with a . They may be heading home for now, but they are determined to come back and make a mark on the full international scene.

When they do, Ibrahim will no doubt be there with them too.

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    A young man living his dream as a cricket commentator.

    Good luck to him!

    I'm not sure that there are many young men/women here in the UK dreaming of working on TMS maybe SKY but the way in now seems to be as a retired professional rather than as a sporting enthusiast.

  • Comment number 2.

    Good luck to all of the Afghans who have been involved in this competition. They have a difficult lot in life back home and to see them play with enthusiasm and for the sheer joy of the game is brilliant.

  • Comment number 3.

    1. So true. Would be great to see more of a way in through media and journalism rather than through being a player - you certainly get the most enthusiastic commentators that way, and also that's the best background for those who commentate on multiple sports. Barry Davies (who never played any sport at more than, his words, "a very low standard") defines that perfectly.

    I myself have commentated on a European Championships in a low-profile sport (Ultimate, aka Ultimate Frisbee) courtesy of the media coverage being handled by my university radio station as the campus sports complex was staging the event. It was an incredible experience and I'd love to be able to live that particular dream - or failing that, for others to have such a route in.

    Not that it could ever be as much of a dream as this commentator in the article. What an extraordinary story for the Afghan team, and this is yet another wonderful human story that relates to it.

  • Comment number 4.

    Just think without coalition intervention, Afghanistan may not even have had a cricket team in the 20/20 world cup.

    This is a stark reminder to all those naysayers who say that the 9-year conflict causing hundreds of thousands of deaths has not been worth the effort.

  • Comment number 5.

    Great story Alison. It's interesting to hear about how the Afghans keep in touch with their team. I guess the radio is the way many ordinary Brits get to 'see' cricket these days too, its not a bad way. Good luck to Mohammed and to the Afghan team and supporters - hope we see more of them at future events.

  • Comment number 6.


    The game of cricket could be an interesting platform for Afghan youngsters and their fans in the remaking and reshaping of their lives in their life world.

    With so much of cricket in the subcontinent, the well built and enthusiastic Afghans would certainly scale great heights very soon.

    Young and talented Afghan cricketers could be provided with opportunities at the club level in different cricket playing countries.

    Great blog. Running commentary in Pashto sounds interesting. Best wishes to Mohammed Ibrahim in the commentary Box.



    Dr. Cajetan Coelho

  • Comment number 7.

    @JobyJak - ARE YOU SANE??? is the lose a single life (leave alone 100ks) worth for a team to get to WC stage? Will you want a loved one of yours die for your team to win 20/20? It shows how worthless the life of i.e. Afghans/Iraqs are to you people.

  • Comment number 8.

    Is there a sub in the house? Try reading that third par.

  • Comment number 9.

    Just talking about the Pakistan v Australia T20 semi, it looks like the most obvious match fixing in history is what people in my local are saying, to lose 6,6,4,6 or whatever it was in the final over.
    Has the pakistani bowler started building his big new house yet?





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