Cricket diplomacy: India playing the long game in Afghanistan

On the night of October 23, 2023, India’s oldest international cricket ground, the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai, erupted in celebration. Tens of thousands roared and waved flags. The stands rejoiced in what seemed like a familiar triumph over a long-standing rival. It looked like an Indian victory. But the victor was not India. It was Afghanistan.

Afghanistan had defeated Pakistan in a World Cup group-stage match. This was a historic moment for a young cricketing nation. It capped a remarkable 2023 World Cup campaign. Earlier in the tournament, Afghanistan stunned defending champions England and later overcame Sri Lanka, another established power.

Though Afghanistan won only three of nine matches, its victories came against some of cricket’s giants. The tournament marked the nation’s arrival as a serious international player and delivered its most historic World Cup finish, sixth place.

Afghan cricketers enjoy extraordinary support of Indian fans, both inside and outside the stadium. Back in 2023, Captain Hasmatullah Shahidi recalled feeling “a lot of respect and love” from ordinary Indians, including a taxi driver who refused to accept payment from him.

At first glance, Indian enthusiasm for Afghanistan seems to defy politics. Relations between New Delhi and the Taliban‑led Afghan government have been fraught since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and New Delhi withdrew its full diplomatic mission from Kabul.

India refused to formally recognize the Taliban government while raising concerns about human rights and governance. In 2022, it sent a diplomatic team to Kabul but focused mainly on supervising humanitarian aid distribution.

It was not until October 2025 that the Indian government hosted Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi for high-level talks in what appears to be a cautious turn toward pragmatic engagement.

Some see India’s support of Afghan cricket as “soft power” diplomacy aimed at countering the influence of Pakistan and China. But how can a country exercise soft power over a government it does not officially recognize? Others argue that the cricket connection represents a long-term investment in building goodwill among ordinary Afghans. That it does, but it also does much more.

India’s support for Afghan cricket extends beyond soft power and public diplomacy into what may be called nation-building or, more accurately, “nation-sustaining.” This is not the top-down, externally imposed nation-building that the United States pursued and struggled to maintain in Afghanistan. India’s approach builds deeply rooted cultural infrastructure with broad popular appeal in both Afghanistan and India.

Afghan cricket is more than a sport. It is a refugee institution that helps to sustain a social system around a vulnerable, heavily displaced community. In doing so, it helps to preserve its identity and pride. Afghan cricket first emerged in refugee camps in Pakistan during the 1980s and 1990s, when Pakistani locals introduced the sport to young Afghans.

These Afghan players later brought cricket to Afghanistan. Since the Taliban’s return in 2021, men’s cricket came to be tightly controlled, including conservative dress codes, restrictions on spectators, and limits on media coverage. Facilities and funding are minimal, and international engagement is closely monitored. Women’s cricket was banned entirely. Training, competitions, and public participation were prohibited.

Over the past decade, India played a key role in developing Afghan cricket and helping the national team establish itself internationally. In 2015, the Board of Control for Cricket in India arranged for Afghanistan to use the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida as a temporary home ground, while Afghanistan also hosted a Twenty20 series against Bangladesh in Dehradun.

Indian support included coaching, training facilities, and corporate sponsorships from companies such as Amul, FanCode, and TYKA. India also approved a $1 million grant to build a cricket stadium in Kandahar Province, which it did in 2017, and supported Afghanistan’s bid to gain full membership of the International Cricket Council in 2017, helping the team secure recognition on the global stage.

After August 2021, New Delhi continued to support Afghan cricket in practical and visible ways. It provided training facilities, access to high‑quality stadiums, and opportunities for the Afghan team to play “home” matches on Indian soil.

Many Afghan cricketers have enjoyed success and visibility in India. Rashid Khan made his Indian Premier League debut in 2017 and quickly became a standout overseas player. Since then, other Afghan players such as Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Karim Janat have featured in the league, increasing Afghanistan’s representation in the world’s premier Twenty20 competition.

India’s nation-sustaining efforts through Afghan cricket are powerful because the cultural bonds they foster are enduring and reciprocal. Among Indian fans, they reinforce the perception of Afghans as “brothers,” at least in the cricketing sense, while Indian media portrays the Afghan team as a talented, hard-working underdog.

The deep cultural impact of India’s approach is clear. After Afghanistan’s elimination from the 2025 Asia Cup, a post by an Afghan fan on Twitter (now X) went viral, declaring: “We may be eliminated, but India is still carrying our hopes.”

Avik Nandy is an Independent Researcher based in Long Island, New York. Yelena Biberman is an associate professor of political science at Skidmore College, an associate at Harvard University’s Davis Center, and a new voice at the Andrew W Marshall Foundation.