Sachin throws weight behind World Cup's feel-good story

Any local support Australia might have expected from the Wankhede crowd evaporated the instant Sachin Tendulkar threw his weight behind their opponents on the eve of their next World Cup contest.

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, after completing his pre-match press conference on Monday evening, broke into a giddy jog across the famed ground to join huddled teammates hanging on every word of an animated Tendulkar address. 

Not long before, Afghanistan's fielding coach, South African Ryan Moran, was spotted taking a selfie with the six-and-a-half-metre statue of the batting legend erected on the western side of the ground only last week.

In Mumbai, the hometown of modern cricket's most iconic figure, Tendulkar is the man you want on your side.

The 50-year-old's appearance as Afghanistan's guest mentor, believed to have been arranged by his close friend and former teammate Ajay Jadeja, now an assistant to head coach Jonathan Trott, is an extremely rare move from a figure whose level of adoration in India is rivalled only by Virat Kohli. 

"We all are excited because he's a legend of the game," Hashmatullah told reporters. "For a lot of players we were watching him on TV as a successful player and he was a role model. It will be exciting … to see him and (hear) some words and learn from him." 

And it will only further motivate Afghanistan to put a dent in Australia's hopes of clinching a semi-final berth via a sixth consecutive win.

Tendulkar's cameo, which extended well into Monday night as he spoke to most of the spirited Afghanistan squad individually while also posing for photographs, sums up the groundswell of support for the war-torn country's cricket team.

Their giant-killing run has already seen them knock off three former tournament winners. 

Hashmatullah revealed a local taxi driver refused to accept money for his fare when he realised who he was.

"That's how people give us love here in India," he said. "We enjoy that and we are thankful for that … they are coming to every game into the stadiums, and they're supporting us."

Afghanistan's tournament to date is the latest chapter in the extraordinary story of their men's team's rapid development.

When Australia last played them outside of an ICC event – in 2012 when Michael Clarke was still captain – it marked Afghanistan's second-ever match against a full member side. They had only been admitted as an affiliate member of the ICC at the start of the century.

Now, Hashmatullah's declaration that the combination of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi – who have all benefited from time playing in the KFC Big Bash – is the best spin attack in the world has merit.

"If the pitch suits our spinners and if there is something in the pitch, I will be very happy," the 29-year-old said of a Wankhede surface that has been a batting haven so far this tournament. 

"I will be very happy because the whole world knows that our spinning department is best in the world – we can (make) any team struggle."

Their top-order has shown a steel lacking in past tournaments. Twenty-one-year-old Rahmanullah Gurbaz has announced himself as one of world cricket's brightest top-order prospects, while Hashmatullah has led the way by averaging more than 70. 

Fast bowlers Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi are also major upgrades on the pacemen they have brought to previous white-ball events.

Their strong results, which have them still in with a chance of making the top four, come amid considerable upheaval in their homeland, where the Taliban returned to power two years ago. 

Star player Rashid suggested "cricket is the only happiness in Afghanistan" in an impassioned address to teammates earlier in the World Cup.

Among the many restrictions imposed under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, women are unable to work, attend school beyond primary level and are largely confined to their homes. 

It follows that cricket is off the table for women as well.

That was the decisive factor in Cricket Australia's controversial decision to abandon a bilateral men's tour hosted by Afghanistan earlier this year, a move that has come back into the spotlight ahead of their first ODI since the last World Cup.

The majority of the former nationally contracted Afghanistan women players fled to Australia after the Taliban took over and have been supported by local cricket clubs. 

CA has stood by its decision not to tour Afghanistan, noting a "distinction between playing bilateral series against Afghanistan which falls directly under CA control as compared to playing in a World Cup tournament which is an ICC event and subject to their regulations".

Speedster Naveen, who has played in the BBL for the Sydney Sixers, accused CA of double standards in the lead-in to the match, posting to his Instagram that it "will be interesting to see Cricket Australia's stand in the World Cup #standards #human rights or 2 points". 

It is a complex issue. Afghanistan continue to play under the flag of the now-toppled republic and sing the old national anthem before matches. The Taliban do not have an anthem; they consider music played in public to be immoral. 

Hashmatullah refused to be drawn into the debate. "Right now we have a game tomorrow in the World Cup," he said. "If we focus on that, instead of these things, it will be better."

2023 men's ODI World Cup standings

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 India Men IND	9	9	0	0	0	2.57	0	18
2 South Africa Men SA	9	7	2	0	0	1.261	0	14
3 Australia Men AUS	9	7	2	0	0	0.841	0	14
4 New Zealand Men NZ	9	5	4	0	0	0.743	0	10
5 Pakistan Men PAK	9	4	5	0	0	-0.199	0	8
6 Afghanistan Men AFG	9	4	5	0	0	-0.336	0	8
7 England Men ENG	9	3	6	0	0	-0.572	0	6
8 Bangladesh Men BAN	9	2	7	0	0	-1.087	0	4
9 Sri Lanka Men SL	9	2	7	0	0	-1.419	0	4
10 Netherlands Men NED	9	2	7	0	0	-1.825	0	4

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points