If Afghanistan learn patience, they can win ICC event in next decade: Dale Steyn

Afghanistan’s men’s cricket is on the rise, bringing a lot of joy to Afghans worldwide. They recently defeated England in the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan after defeating them in the 2023 ODI World Cup as well. In the recent past, they have also defeated teams like Pakistan and South Africa in ODIs, and are on the upwards trajectory in almost all aspects of the game. 

Former South Africa pace bowling star Dale Steyn praised this spectacular growth, however advices the players to be more patient and not just be frustrated if things are not going their way. He feels that it’s due to the lack of first-class cricket played by Afghanistan.

“Back in the day, a lot of players would go play county cricket," Steyn said on ESPNCricinfo. 

"Or they would go play first-class cricket to improve their skills and improve their patience really. I think we live in a time now where people are not patient enough. We can hardly watch two seconds on an Instagram story and it just feels like the Afghanistan players are similar when they're playing their cricket.

"They want things to happen so quickly. This ball must be a wicket, there's no patience to building up and taking a wicket. And sometimes, the batters are the same, they're batting in the first over. There's so much movement happening in the crease, so they're trying to hit a six and they're trying to get the game going.”

Steyn assessed that if the Afghan cricketers are able to come out of the T20 mould and apply patience in their game, success will definitely come to them. 

“I think a lot of them play T20 cricket around the world, which is great, it's great for their pockets and it's great for them to learn. But, maybe, spending some time in four-day games might help, because one-day cricket is essentially a shortened version of a Test match. 

“It's got its moments where T20 is applied. But patience is one of the biggest things that Afghanistan players need to learn, and once they get that down, honestly, in the next decade, they could win ICC tournaments, for sure.”