The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is famous for its natural beauty, where demographically, it is a Pashtun-dominated area.
Over the last two decades, the province — previously known as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) — stayed in the news for all the wrong reasons, mostly down to the deteriorating law and order situation. However, now it is known for producing the best cricketing talent in the country.
On December 29, 2021, the KP side once again showcased that they are head and shoulder above the rest as they comprehensively defeated Northern in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy by 169 runs to retain their title.
In Pakistan society, Pashtuns are believed to be the kind of people who are very brave but emotional in their decision making.
However, their recent success in domestic cricket suggests that their madness has some method to it. There is a reason why they are the most feared team in the domestic structure.
The reason is that in KP, over the last 10 years, the focus on the regional level has slowly moved towards investing in sporting activities. Hayatabad Sports Complex in the heart of Peshawar City is one of the prime examples of what there is to achieve if efforts go in the same direction where the mouth is.
It is also important to mention that while the new cricket structure might not be the best there is or was in the history of Pakistan, but the association with a particular area gives an edge to the rivalry.
It is one of the primary reasons for the KP’s success that all the players belong to the Pashtun community, they have a similar mindset, they speak the same language and play for each other.
It is because of this reason it is irrelevant who is playing in the starting XI as now they work like a well-oiled machine. You just replace the player but the performance will be very similar to what it was before.
In terms of player development, KP is second to none in the country. Their strength lies in the investment in the youth system. They not only identify the young guns but also ensure that those players are given a proper chance at the highest level.
For this, a lot of credit should be given to Abdul Rehman, who is the head coach of the KP team this year whereas he is also a part of the Peshawar Zalmi’s franchise’s coaching staff in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
He is known for his work at the grass-root level. He has an eye for identifying the talent, has the patience to work with them and then the results are there for everyone to see.
It is no surprise that some of the most talented youngsters playing the game currently in Pakistan are coming from that part of the country.
KP’s dominance is led by the quality of their pace attack which is simply unplayable at times. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Arshad Iqbal, Irfanullah Shah, Mohammad Imran, Imran Khan Sr and Sameen Gul are the names to choose from for the coaching staff.
The depth is so ridiculous at times that they even discarded the likes of Junaid Khan and Usman Shinwari because there is simply no place for the veterans who are not willing to go the extra yard.
Their spin department is more than useful as well where Sajid Khan and Asif Afridi are more than capable of not only keeping things extremely tight but also are good enough to use conditions to good effect and claim timely breakthroughs.
It would not be an understatement to claim that if KP’s full-strength side go up against the Pakistan team right now, they might come out on top.
After all, they have the most prolific wicketkeeper-batter in the country in Mohammad Rizwan, one of the best new-ball bowlers in the world in Shaheen, one of the most destructive openers in Fakhar Zaman, one of the most promising top-order batters in Sahibzada Farhan, a senior figure like Iftikhar Ahmed, a fighter like Kamran Ghulam, a bowling all-rounder like Wasim Jr. and country’s best spin talent in Sajid.
If there is a case study to follow in Pakistan to see the result of bringing sports into the mainstream, it is KP’s success in cricket over the last two years and it should not come as a surprise if there will be a day soon where a majority chunk of the players playing in the national team belongs to that part.
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