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Being Mohammed Nabi is not easy. Coming out from a war-torn nation like Afghanistan and then learning the ropes of the game in neighbouring Pakistan required determination and patience.
Life was tough, but so was Nabi who made his Afghanistan debut back in 2009. Fame was hard to come by, but he hung on. So much so that today, even after 13 long years, he still plays. Add to that an IPL deal and an ever growing popularity across the world, and you get stuff of legends. Well, now imagine sharing the same dressing room with your son! Nabi couldn’t have asked for more.
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On Friday the Afghan played for the same side alongside his son Hassan, who is 16, at the CBFS 2022 Sharjah T20. As a father, all that he wants now is to share the Afghanistan dressing room with his son. Although he agrees it may only happen if his son is good enough to be there in the first place.
“It was my hope we would play together once – and that we could play together in the national team,” Nabi told the ‘National’
“I will try to play a few more years for Afghanistan, and a few more years in leagues too. Hassan will grow more, and hopefully play Under 19s. If he has the ability to play for the national team, then hopefully he will play for the national team. In a proper league, it is [the first time we have played together. It is nice. He is under pressure. But he is a good talent.”
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The 16-year-old has enrolled with Sharjah Cricket Academy last year where he is training hard to make a name for himself. But make no mistake, compared to his father, he hasn’t seen any struggle. “Our families wouldn’t allow us to play cricket,” Nabi said. “[But] Hassan I know has good talent, which is why I give him more opportunities, at these good facilities, to play cricket.”
“In my childhood, I didn’t have anything for myself. But Hassan has all these things.”
“It is totally different. I have told him, the facilities I had when I learnt cricket were not like this. I wasn’t allowed to an academy, and there wasn’t a proper facility for me to play cricket.
“He has everything. He is using my shoes, my gloves, my pads, bat, helmet. He has everything in his kit bag.”
“He is a good student. I told him: first studies, then cricket.”
He has already told him that being the son of Mohammed Nabi will bring him added pressure. “I told him it is not easy,” Nabi said. “Because of my name, there is more pressure on you. Work harder, and try to make more of the ability you have been given.”
“People will say: ‘You are the son of Mohammed Nabi.’ That will be extra pressure on you, not on me.”
The 37 year old Nabi has remained the backbone of the side that qualified for the World Twenty20 in 2010, 2012 and 2014 and the 2015 World Cup. Nabi has had a couple of stints as Afghanistan’s captain, taking over the role from Nawroz Mangal in March 2013 and leading the side to the 2015 World Cup.
