In a van honking and maneuvering through gridlocked Kabul traffic, an Afghan man gets philosophical about the problems of modern life.“All over the world, there is fighting, fighting,” he says. The solution to all these problems, he says, is cricket.
Meet Taj Malik, the Afghan cricket team coach and, possibly, the sport’s biggest advocate in the the war-torn country.
He’s the main protagonist in “Out of the Ashes,” a funny, touching film that follows the Afghan cricket team in its quest to qualify for the Twenty20 cricket World Cup, held this year. Twenty20 cricket is a fast-paced short form of traditional cricket known for big bucks and glamour.
The British brought cricket to Afghanistan in the early 19th century, but it didn’t catch on for almost 200 years. Afghans only really started playing about 1986, says “Out of the Ashes” director Tim Albone.
Refugees from Afghanistan’s war with what was then the Soviet Union learned the sport in camps in Pakistan and brought it with them when they returned.
