Masked with a crochet on top to disguise himself, Rahmanullah Gurbaz decides to prank his Tuk-Tuk driver at the end of their trip in Kolkata. “I don’t have the money, chacha,” he says as he gets out, winking in the camera before he does. “I left it in the hotel, and I have nothing to go back there now,” he stretches the act, before slowly taking his mask and hat off. “Are you Gurbaz?” asks the driver with a smile slowly spreading across his face. After refusing a couple of times, the Afghan prodigy finally gives in. The chacha, who was confused for a few seconds, is now overwhelmed with joy. The fare has been waived off and he even offers some change for the batter to get back to his hotel, not yet seeing through the joke. Finally Gurbaz breaks the character as he hugs him, “Aapka dil bahot bada hai (You have a big heart).”
Gurbaz, a prominent feature at KKR last year, may not have been winning games on field but was surely winning fans off of it earlier this season. That is until a call from back home shook him to the core. The 22-year-old had to rush to attend to his ailing mother. Sitting by her bedside in the hospital, Gurbaz faced a low he had never experienced before.
It’s during this emergency trip that the Afghan batter’s longtime coach, Mohammad Khan Zadran nudged him back towards cricket to try and lift his spirits.
“He played a couple of friendly matches here,” Zadran tells The Indian Express, before revealing a conversation Gurbaz had with him.
“Phil (Salt) is playing really well. That’s why I do not have a place in the XI. He’s scoring the runs. Agar mujhe mauka mila, toh mai bhi karunga. (If I get the opportunity, I’ll do as well).”
Cut to the IPL final, a jubilant Gurbaz – having set up the chase with an early flurry of boundaries, paid tribute to his mother after winning the title. “My mom is watching from home. She is feeling good now. I asked mom before the match if she wanted anything. She said, ‘just win’.”
The overall experience, reckons Zadran, elevated Gurbaz’s already-astounding confidence levels ahead of a T20 World Cup in which he has made an impact with the bat – a rare feat. In a tournament that’s seen batters struggle to find boundaries, Gurbaz has done so with relative ease from the word go, helping Afghanistan secure a Super-8 spot and a humbling win over New Zealand.
Courageous since beginning
It’s his dileri (courage) that stands out. On the mic when he said, “we have the trust that we can beat any team in this tournament” after the win against Black Caps. And definitely in his batting as he dominated one of the most experienced pace attacks at the World Cup.
“Darpok nahi hai (He isn’t afraid of playing big shots). I’ve coached players who have had better shots than him but are afraid of using them. Gurbaz doesn’t shy away. When he plays them, he says it out loud, ‘This one’s gone. Six!’,” Zadran shares.
What also helps the 22-year-old is his liberal stance, one that’s come naturally to him, concedes his childhood coach.
“He shuffles quickly. Which is why he doesn’t leave the ball going outside his line, rather attacks it. It’s why he’s so good at his strokes on the leg stump.” Isn’t it a double-edged sword then if the bowler is able to extract any kind of late movement? It’s what has cost Gurbaz his wicket in the past two games.
“Against PNG, he played a stroke and the ball came back in. He didn’t judge the hand of the bowler, and thought it would go straight with the angle, but it came back in,” analyzes Zadran.
Love affair with India
Gurbaz will be a special feature when Afghanistan take the field against India on Wednesday in the Super-8. He became a fan favorite in India after he was pictured distributing money to street dwellers in Ahmedabad ahead of Diwali during last year’s World Cup. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor was among the many to laud him, “Far greater than any century he might score — and may he score many! Long may his career thrive, along with his heart.”
Just amazing act of kindness by Afghan batsman Rahmatullah Gurbaz to pavement dwellers in Ahmedabad after his last match. Far greater than any century he might score — and may he score many! Long may his career thrive, along with his heart…. pic.twitter.com/hgeBubHNzv
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 12, 2023
His heartwarming interactions with the locals during the IPL have only increased his liking. Be it a playful prank in the Kolkata’s streets to gifting a young fan his gloves and promising an elderly lady, working in an NGO, a light bat.
In the KKR dressing room, they call him jaani (darling), which also means: a gift of god. “Gurbaz bhai, the people of Kolkata love you a lot,” he’s asked in a franchise video after one of his fan interactions at the Eden Gardens. Gurbaz smiles and responds, “Mai toh pyaar hi hu (I am love).”
There’s a reason why the Afghan has an affinity for the cricket-mad country. Growing up in a war-scarred Afghanistan, as son of a former school principal, Gurbaz had to resort to tantrums and tears when his father forced him to abandon the dream of becoming a cricketer.
His elder brother Saadat would confront Zadran. “His brother told me, ‘I won’t let him play. Pehle school karega, phir cricket.’ Rahmanullah started crying at that moment and quavered, ‘I’ll play cricket. I won’t go to school’.” It’s what has earned him adulation – at home, and especially in India. The smile on Gurbaz’s face when the Tuk tuk chacha recognised him said it all.