TimesofIndia.com in Milanpur: Three years ago when Rana Naveedul Hasan arrived as bowling coach at the Afghanistan High Performance Center in Kabul, a young fast bowler immediately caught his attention. Mohammad Salim Safi, a lanky fast bowler from Baghlan province, was bowling with real pace and troubling some of Afghanistan’s successful batsmen in the nets.“He was touching 145 kmph. That excited me. I was surprised because you don’t often get real fast bowlers in Afghanistan. Yes, there have been many medium pacers, but an out-and-out quick is a rarity. My daughter got married last evening, so I couldn’t watch the match, but I watched the live commentary and felt he was bowling well. Today, he has been extraordinary. He bowled a tough length and it was good to see him work the high balls of 130,” Rana Naveedul Hasan tells TimesofIndia.com from Sheikhupura in Pakistan.“It took a while for Salim Sahib’s engine to warm up (Salim took some time to get into the groove),” laughs Naveedul Hasan.The former Pakistan bowler is right in his assessment of the 23-year-old Afghanistan fast bowler. He bowled well on the first day, but only in patches. He was unlucky and failed to maintain the pressure throughout the over after bowling two good balls. But whenever he hit the right areas, he troubled the batsmen.Prior to this lone Test against India, Safi had failed to take a single wicket in his previous four international matches. He played one Test, two ODIs and one T20 but took six wickets against India.On the opening day, he took valuable wickets. Yeshsavi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan. With the new ball, he bowled probing lengths and kept the Indian batsmen on their toes. Jaiswal’s throat dropped down the leg-side, while Sudharsan chased down a 142km/h delivery on the fifth stump line, drove it back, and smashed 139 for the second wicket.
Muhammad Saleem (PTI photo)
On the second day, with the second new ball, Muhammad Salim Safi hit the ball with speed. He dismissed the century Shabman Gill. The Indian skipper, who played an inopportune knock on the first day, looked a little rusty. In the over before his dismissal, Gill drilled Salem for two charming boundaries. But Bowler had the last laugh. It hit the deck hard and bounced with a thick outside edge which Officer Zazai caught safely behind the stumps.He then forced an error in judgment from Dhruv Jaril. The Indian batsman thought the ball was outside the line of the stumps and would bounce over. But to Jural’s horror, it bounced back enough to land on top of the off-stump.Safi was relentless throughout the morning and was eventually rewarded with wickets. Then came the biggest moment of his cricket career when he found an outside edge to complete debutant Manav Sothar’s first five-wicket haul. He was pumped. He raised his hands for a small lap, touched his forehead to the ground in celebration, and was then mobbed by teammates. He cleaned up and added another wicket to his tally. Muhammad Siraj and finished with a career-best figure of 6 for 140.A proud Naveed Al Hasan said, “He was injured last year. He is coming back after a long injury. He looked in good rhythm. The inexperience was quite visible, but the more he plays, the better he will get”.Naveedul Hasan says there has been a tectonic shift towards fast bowling in Afghanistan and he credits it to a strong domestic structure and ever-improving infrastructure.“The world has only seen mysterious spinners coming out of Afghanistan, but now there is a massive change. An annual fast bowling talent hunt is being organised, and at the U-19 and A-team levels, many players are in the pipeline,” he said.Between February and November, Afghanistan hosts seven domestic tournaments across all three formats, with Rana Naveedul Hasan actively involved in identifying talent for the development programme. The onus then falls on the National Center of High Performance to find standout players from the domestic circuit, creating a structured pathway to prepare them for national team selection.“They have six teams in first-class cricket. Then there is Division Two, where teams play three-day cricket. They are very good in white-ball cricket, but in the longer format they are still learning. However, they are on the right track,” said Naveed, who enjoyed a distinguished career for Pakistan between 2003 and 2010, particularly in ODIs.“Take Salim for example. He has this hunger. I’ve traveled all over Afghanistan and the fire burning in the stomachs of these children is unmatched,” he said.
Mohammad Siraj was bowled by Afghanistan’s Mohammad Saleem and left the ground. (AP Photo)
At the Performance Centre, Naveed Al Hasan and former Pakistan opener Imran Farhat are tasked with building separate teams for the three formats.He said, “The culture of T20 cricket is stronger. Obviously, the format has given them stars. But the real goal is to produce quality fast bowlers for Test cricket. I have selected eight to 10 fast bowlers. Saleem and Ziaur Rahman Sharifi are playing in this Test. The goal is to create a pool of fast bowlers who can serve Afghanistan in all three formats.”But there are also challenges for the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). Many talented cricketers have left the game due to financial difficulties.In an interview with ACB in 2020, Mohammad Saleem Safi admitted that financial problems had pushed him away from cricket.“I started playing cricket almost a year ago (2019), but due to severe economic and financial difficulties, I am struggling to continue. However, I am still working very hard on my cricket. “Cricket is very special to me,” he had said.After all these years, Salim Safi’s hard work has paid off. Afghanistan’s open-chested batsman was a devastating chief on a flat Malinpore wicket under the scorching sun. His effort has also put a smile on Rana Naveedul Hasan’s face, giving him another reason to celebrate the work being done in Kabul.“It was very satisfying. An Afghanistan fast bowler took six wickets against India at 140 kmph. A great day for me,” he said.
