The 25-year-old Afghanistan wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai claims that the former Indian captain and present Indian limited-overs wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni is his idol since childhood. Making his dream fulfilled to play Test cricket, Zazai feels optimistic after observing the eye-catching growth in Afghanistan cricket.
While Mohammad Shahzad is the obvious choice for Afghanistan wicketkeeping, Afsar Zazai took that role during Afghanistan’s inaugural Test match in this June against India, despite Shahzad featured in that game. Zazai feels delightful to be a part in that historic Test match.
Recently, Zazai told Sportstar, “It is every cricketer’s dream to play a Test, and I was delighted when mine came true at Bengaluru in June. We couldn’t do well as a team in that Test against India, but we got to learn a lot of new things which would help us in the future.”
Zazai is currently in Sharjah (UAE) to participate in the inaugural Afghanistan Premier League (APL) where he is playing for Kabul Zwanan. He feels the new tournament is the great achievement for the Afghanistan cricket.
Zazai said, “I had initially played tennis ball cricket and then from the age of 10, with the hard ball, in Paktia, back home. Now, we have a league of our own. It is a great achievement for the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), which has been able to create it in such a short span of time.
“Our young players could get noticed by international teams. And, all of us could benefit from working with quality coaches, like Heath Streak and Venkatesh Prasad.”
During the recently concluded Asia Cup 2018 in UAE that was played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan team performed impressively after getting great supports from the on-field crowds. Zazai hopes the similar atmosphere in the inaugural APL.
He said, “Lots of Afghan people, who live in the UAE, had come to support at the recent Asia Cup in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. I hope those fans come for the APL matches too.”
Zazai also said that he admires most from the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni as he likes Dhoni’s cool attitude on and off the field.
Zazai said about Dhoni, “He has been my idol since childhood. I like his coolness. His attitude on and off the field is remarkable.”
