Afghanistan may not be one of the major cricket playing nations, but cricket is big in the country. Having started its ICC World Cup journey in 2015, Afghanistan is all set to play its second World Cup this year, and fans’ excitement knows no bounds. An Afghan fan is breaking the internet after the International Cricket Council (ICC) shared on Wednesday a picture of a Cricket World Cup trophy that he made with green grass.
The cricket governing body posted two photographs on the official Twitter handle of the Cricket World Cup. While one photo is of a grass replica of the ICC World Cup, the other shows the fan posing with it.
The ICC also wished to meet the cricket fan for his unique job.
“😍 WE. LOVE. THIS. 😍
A brilliant Cricket World Cup trophy made out of grass in Afghanistan, and we’d love to find the person who made it!” Cricket World Cup posted on Twitter.
😍 WE. LOVE. THIS. 😍
A brilliant Cricket World Cup trophy made out of grass in Afghanistan, and we’d love to find the person who made it! pic.twitter.com/iAGdkgx5gE
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) May 1, 2019
The tweet posted at 4.40 pm had been shared over 1200 times and garnered more than 10,000 Likes at the time of writing.
Though it could not be confirmed immediately, a user commenting on the thread identified the fan as Sharaf Naib, calling him brother of Afghanistan cricket team captain Gulbadin Naib.
This made by our skipper’s (gulbadain Naib) brother Sharaf Naib pic.twitter.com/J0CWa0zrFb
— Sami Pakhtoon Ⓜ️ (@iamSamiAlikhel) May 1, 2019
A website, pashtovoa.com, too identified him as Sharaf Naib, a resident of Kabul. He is being praised by cricket fans across the world for his craft.
The ICC World Cup is starting on May 30 and will be played in England and Wales. Hosts England will play South Africa in the opening match on the day on at Kennington Oval.
All 10 teams participating in the mega event have announced their squads. They have time till May 23 to make any changes.
Afghanistan will start its campaign from June 1, when they will take on Australia at the County Ground in Bristol.
Afghanistan, which started playing international Test cricket only in 2017, has been playing ODIs and Twenty20 for some time now. Failing to qualify for the 2011 World Cup, they made their tournament debut in 2015. On 26 February 2015, the country won their first World Cup match, it was against Scotland whom they defeated by one wicket. The team however lost all the remaining matches and made a exit in the opening round itself.
Afghanistan’s star cricketer Rashid Khan plays the cash-rich Indian Premier League and is a much sought-after player. At 20, he is already counted among the best of international cricket.