ICC World Cup 2023: Forged in Fire – Tales From Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s Childhood

#CWC23 | Tumultuous tales from the childhood and initial days in cricket of Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

(Photo: 1. PTI, 2. Sourced by The Quint)

As Rahmaullah Gurbaz launched an ambush on the English bowlers, during an ICC World Cup 2023 match in Delhi, Hedayatullah Rohan – sitting 850 kilometres away in the Afghan city of Khost – found himself engulfed by a wave of bittersweet emotions.

First, let’s focus on the latter – that is – the ‘sweet’ part.

The ‘Sweet’ of Bittersweet

Watching Gurbaz – the 21-year-old Afghan opener – make light work of England’s star-studded bowling unit on 15 October, Hedayatullah knew why he was flawless in his prognostication – that, his childhood friend was made for greatness.

In a rural region of a volatile nation, Gurbaz found a necessary escapade in cricket, as many of his friends did. In tennis balls and bats that resembled shoddily carved wooden logs, the kid would happily spend his days, without a care in the world.

Stumps Over Stethoscopes

Except, his father cared. Being a school principal, he knew education was the most effective tool to break the shackles of poverty.

‘You’ll become a doctor,’ the father had suggested.

Little did he know that his son had insouciantly disregarded the suggestion even before he could finish his lecture.

Instead, he continued playing. In his village cricket team, Gurbaz was the opening batter and wicketkeeper. Hedayatullah, now reminiscing the old days during a conversation with The Quint, was the captain of the side.

(Photo: Sourced by The Quint)

“He had to deal with so many troubles while growing up,” he said.

“What sort of troubles?” we asked.

“His family, for starters. They were strict, his father was a principal. They wanted Rahmanullah to focus on studies, attend school every day and help the family out in the farms – not wander on the fields with us,” he says.

(Photo: Sourced by The Quint)

The plausible rationale follows.

The family was not affluent, so they wanted him to be educated and enter a noble profession. Rahmanullah had no money to spend on cricket kits and gear.

Hedayatullah Rohan, childhood friend of Rahmanullah Gurbaz

What he had – in abundance, too – was talent. And his friends knew that a player of his calibre, though he was only in his early teens, should not quit the sport. 

Result? Jugaad.

Friend Mohammad Qadir would open a pick-and-drop service solitarily for Gurbaz, while also spending his savings on kits. Hedayatullah would offer his bat to the opener.

(Photo: Sourced by The Quint)

Caught & Bowled (& Burned)

Playing in numerous tennis-ball tournaments, scoring runs aplenty and garnering applause – life couldn’t have been any better.

Or, so he had thought, until his elder brother, Afsar, found out what Gurbaz had been doing behind the family’s back.

(Photo: Sourced by The Quint)

Afsar got very angry after knowing his brother had been playing cricket all this while. One day, when Rahmanullah returned home from an inter-club match, Afsar confiscated his bat and set fire to it. It was the bat that I had given.

Hedayatullah Rohan, childhood friend of Rahmanullah Gurbaz

A Life-Changing Knock

For the next few days, he had to be consoled by everyone in and around the team. With another bat from Hedyatullah, the cricketing escapade continued, till a major break changed his life – not figuratively, but quite literally.

(Photo: Sourced by The Quint)

In one match, he scored a half-century with my bat. It so happened that Mohammad Khan Zadran, the former cricketer who was coaching the Khost Province team, was also in attendance. He was so impressed by Rahmanullah’s batting that he invited him to his shop for a meeting.

Hedayatullah Rohan, childhood friend of Rahmanullah Gurbaz

“The coach told him that he should join the academy. He also promised that if Rahmanullah continues to bat well, he will take the responsibility of taking him to the higher levels,” Hedayatullah recalls.

Coach Zadran recalls how he got 'dileer' Gurbaz under his wing:

I called Gurbaz into my academy after watching his batting. But his brother, Afsar, was completely against cricket. The kid started crying and it took a lot of convincing to bring him to the academy. He has always been adamant, undoubtedly the most dileer (fearless) of the bunch that I have trained (which includes the likes of Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad).

Mohammad Khan Zadran

Life Hasn’t Been the Same Ever Since

Since then, the escalation has been rapid. Gurbaz was introduced in the U-16 team, then U-19, and finally, at the tender age of 16, and with a little over two years of training with the hard ball, he was playing first-class cricket.

A year later, at 17, he would don the Afghanistan jersey. The days of asking friends for kits were long gone. His family was now assured that cricket, too, can be a viable career option.

In the last four years, the sport has taken Gurbaz to various corners of the world – including India – where he has recently represented the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, with distinction.

He has also represented his nation on 72 occasions, the last of which was perhaps the most memorable one so far. A 57-ball 80 propelled Afghanistan to their first victory against England – the defending world champions.

Following the triumph, Gurbaz dedicated the remarkable achievement to those suffering in Afghanistan after the recent earthquakes.

“This was a really good moment for us, as we didn’t have any good moments in Afghanistan at the moment. Our focus has been elsewhere, but our boys did really well and brought more happiness to the Afghanistan team and for the public back home,” he said in the post-match press conference.

Now, the ‘Bitter’ of Bittersweet

Back home, in the Afghan city of Khost, Hedayatullah found himself engulfed by a wave of bittersweet emotions.

Now, about the former – that is – the ‘bitter’ part.

As we prepare to call curtains to the conversation, Gurbaz’s childhood friend says “My only regret is that he hasn’t spoken with us in a while.”

“Why so?”

“Maybe, because he lives a great life now and has forgotten about the old times. He does not live in Khost anymore. Comes once in a while – he was here a few months ago. These days, he stays in Kabul and the UAE.”

“But that did not stop the people of Khost from celebrating his remarkable knock against England, did it?”

Absolutely not. We celebrated like anything, just that we could not celebrate together. In rural areas of Afghanistan like ours, there’s a night curfew. We aren’t allowed to leave our homes after 10pm.

Hedayatullah Rohan, childhood friend of Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Perhaps, Gurbaz, and every cricketer who has made it big, has a right to curb ties with roots. For, to break the shackles has always been the goal.

But back in Khost, Hedayatullah – the erstwhile village team skipper who has left cricket behind (or, has cricket left him behind?) – still hopes to be reunited with his buddy. Not in the hullabaloo of reporters and flashlights, but in peace, and spend hours discussing this, that, and absolutely nothing in particular, but at the same time, everything.

Hedayatullah longs to be reunited with his childhood buddy...

...and spend time together...

...bond over food, spend hours discussing nothing in particular...

...And, perhaps, enjoy a ride. All friends, together.

Like the old days. The old days.