Could not sleep in Mumbai after loss to Australia, can't sleep today too: Rashid Khan

India and West Indies are the two teams with biggest fan bases in this part of the world. But if there's one nation that the neutrals love to root for, it is Afghanistan.
The celebration around the Afghanistan win in a pub in a remote corner of St Lucia tells you the story --everyone wants this beleaguered nation to defy the odds, both in life and sport.As for the Afghan players, these victories --in ODI World Cup against Pakistan or in the T20 World Cup against Australia on Saturday --are not just victories on the cricket pitch. It is a way of telling all those back home that there's light at the end of the tunnel, there's something to look forward to when life hasn't exactly been fair to them.
"It gives people back home so much hope and especially the young generation…Cricket is the only source of happiness back home and you all know that. And I feel like we are so lucky to be here giving those moments of happiness to the people back home," Rashid Khan, the mercurial captain of the Afghanistan team, said after his team pulled off the upset win against Australia.
Afghanistan have played every game in this World Cup with a lot of purpose. Even in their defeat to India in Barbados the other day, there were moments when they made it difficult for the best side of the tournament. It is this desire to give something back to the country that keeps Rashid & Co. punch above their weight, time and time again.
"We hardly see such events back home where our people can celebrate and enjoy. But these little games, or big if you want to call it that, give them so much happiness. All that matters is the smile on the faces of my countrymen," Rashid said.
The best thing about this Afghanistan team is that they are not shy of looking the opposition in their eye.
Take their wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz for example. He didn't mind having a word with Marcus Stoinis, the Aussie allrounder, who isn't exactly known to be tongue-tied when things heat up.
Rashid fully endorsed Gurbaz's sledging of Stoinis saying: "Some guys in the team, they need that fire. Once they keep silent, they forget how good they are. I want the fire to keep burning."
In a way, the win on Saturday was a redemption for Rashid & Co. after the way they lost to Australia in the ODI World Cup in Mumbai a few months ago. They had the game all wrapped up before Glen Maxwell played one of the best ODI innings of all time to take the game away.
Maxwell threatened to do the same on Saturday too for a while, before Afghan bowlers had the last laugh. Rashid acknowledged that the Mumbai game hurt him and that he can "sleep better now".
"That was a night that didn't let me sleep. Probably, tonight too, we won't sleep, but that's because of happiness," Rashid said, hoping to live the dream again on Monday against Bangladesh.