Eat, smile, play: Mohammad Shahzad and his cricket

"Which gym activity do you like the least?"

"I don't like the gym at all."

- Mohammad Shahzad in an interview to ESPNCricinfo

Afghanistan: The first thing that comes to mind is the image of a war-torn country. Ravaged by the Taliban, wrecked by first-world superpowers. If one looks at the sporting success of Afghanistan in modern times, it's as barren as the Registan Desert. Except in cricket: The game has helped the landlocked country carve out a niche for themselves. And in the annals of Afghan cricket history, there echoes a name. The name of one of the most unconventional wicketkeepers the game has ever seen, who rose from a refugee camp in Peshawar to become a household name in Afghan cricketing folklore: Mohammad Shahzad.

Shahzad is unlike other players in today's fitness freak sporting arena. Standing at 5'8", Shahzad weighs 90 kg, not something one expects from a wicketkeeper. However, history has immortalised athletes who have defied conventional norms only to write glorious chapters in victory. Shahzad's physique did not deter him from playing for his country and becoming one of its leading batsmen. For someone who survived the perils of refugee camps, dealing with obstacles are a part of life.

Shahzad made his first-class debut against a Zimbabwe XI at the Mutare Sports Club and scored 79 runs. In February 2010 at the age of 22, he became the first Afghan to score a double century at first-class level when he scored 214 not out in Afghanistan's successful chase of 494 against Canada. Afghanistan clinched the Intercontinental Cup in their very first year of participation, courtesy a half century from Shahzad. He was the leading run scorer of the tournament with 802 runs at an excellent average of 80.20, including two centuries and five half centuries. The win propelled Afghanistan to further success, and established Shahzad as a force to reckon with.

In 2012, he became the first Afghan cricketer to make 1,000 first-class career runs and played in the side put together to face England as a part of their preparation for the series against Pakistan. Shahzad was also part of the 2014 Asia Cup squad but did not produce a significant performance for the team. He was named Man of the Match in the World T20 tournament match against Hong Kong, where he scored a brilliant 68 to help Afghanistan chase 153 runs. He is the first player in cricket history to score two half centuries on the same day, the first was a knock of 80 runs against Oman and the second was an innings of 52 runs against Ireland in the Desert T20 Challenge Cup (2017). He was also the first Afghan player to score an ODI hundred when he notched up 110 runs against Netherlands in 2009, in a two-match series that was drawn 1-1. On Nov. 21, 2018, he smashed the quickest half century (off just 12 balls) in the T10 league.

"If they don't want me to play, I will quit cricket."

He was part of the Afghanistan squad for the 2019 ICC World Cup and played two matches before he was sent home by the team management under instructions from the Afghanistan Cricket Board because of a knee injury. Shahzad, however, later said in a video that he was not injured, creating a storm of controversy and rumours that the ACB axed him because of his fitness. Whatever the reason, the departure of their talismanic batsman did hurt Afghanistan's World Cup campaign.

That Shahzad's rise to prominence coincided with Afghanistan's meteoric rise to the top level of world cricket is no coincidence. This blistering batsman, by virtue of breathtaking quickfire knocks, has established himself as one of the main cogs in Afghanistan cricket. As Afghan cricket is destined to touch new zeniths of success, it is important for Shahzad to play a vital role in their campaigns. It is important for the team that he continues to thrash bowlers and defy a world inhabited by fitness freaks in his trademark style - reaching out for the ball, a big bat swing and looking at the dressing room with a smile on the face.