An untested venue to host Afghanistan's first home series

DEHRADUN: A kilometer ahead of the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here, away from the jostling vehicles in the main town, a billboard has Rashid Khan in his Afghanistan colours and reads to the public: "You are in Dehradun."
The ferocious storm on Friday evening may have brought it down, the spirit of the three-match T20I series between Afghanistan and Bangladesh starting on Sunday is still unmistakable.The local commercial vehicles are now discovering there is a stadium in their vicinity of their town which is now eligible to host top flight cricket.
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The turf here is untested and unknown to say the least. Afghanistan may claim to be the hosts here but the ground has never hosted a competitive match. The stadium has got the official clearance from the International Cricket Council (ICC) as recently as 10 days ago after its team inspected the venue during the IPL. The only other time a match was played at the venue, established by the state government and now maintained by a private firm, was in 2016 when an Uttar Pradesh XI played against an Uttarakhand team.
Apprehensions are bound to creep in irrespective of the training sessions. Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hassan did try to sugarcoat his assessment but made his inhibitions clear. "It's hard to tell how the match pitch will be. It's not that bad. This is a new stadium. It will take some time to be in better shape. At this moment, I don't think it should be a complaint for either team," Shakib said on Saturday. "This looks a little low and slow. We are used to this kind of conditions in so many grounds in the sub-continent," the star all-rounder stated. Every time the ball rolled out on to the outfield during practice it betrayed the quintessential pace of subcontinental grounds.
Probably, never before a host nation has been so unaware of the prevalent conditions at the venue of the match. That is how Afghan cricket has been. The players have been vagabonds, searching for a place to settle down and call it their base. They finally get to host their first full international series and history will ironically say their first international home venue wasn't governed by an affiliated association. Uttarakhand doesn't have an association or a state team. It just happens to be the 12th zone of Uttar Pradesh.
The unrelenting security issues back in Afghanistan have not helped them. Yet, they look around for some acquaintance to be at home. "This is our home ground. So have been Sharjah and Greater Noida. We are as new to this place as Bangladesh. I can't comment how the pitch will behave in the match," Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai steered away from the grey areas as he went on to add: "But the backdrop of the ground is like what it is like in Afghanistan. The hills surrounding the stadium remind me of my home country."
It's evident that Afghanistan's zeal and passion, probably matching their opponents on Sunday, have been contributors in their rapid evolution which has taken them ahead of Bangladesh in ICC's T20 rankings.
Shakib, a teammate of Rashid at Sunrisers Hyderabad, makes no bones about it. "They have deserved their Test status. Rashid is the No. 1 spinner in this format and that speaks volumes about him as a cricketer," Shakib reckoned. He will be aware that the nature of the pitch could well help Afghanistan begin as favourites.
How the virgin turf plays in these three matches will determine the immediate fate of the stadium. The Indian cricket board (BCCI) which had very little role in clearing the ground may well be inclined to Ranji Trophy matches in the upcoming season since it has obtained the clearance from the ICC.
For now, it's about Afghanistan making the most of every opportunity they have earned.