Afghanistan

Cricket in Afghanistan gained traction by Afghan expatriates who learnt the sport while living in Pakistan in the 1980s and 1990s, during the post-Soviet invasion era. Most members of the early Afghanistan national cricket team grew up in Pakistan and participated in the country's domestic cricket structure, making use of cricket facilities in Peshawar with the support of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). It was during this time that the Afghanistan Cricket Federation (now ACB) was also founded, in 1995.

Like all sports, cricket was initially banned by the Taliban, but cricket became an exception in 2000 (being the only sport in Afghanistan to be approved by the Taliban). The ACF received recognition from the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001. Afghanistan fielded their cricket team in Pakistan's domestic setup for the first time in the 2001–02 season, participating in the second division of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy where they drew two and lost three of their five games.

They returned for the Cornelius Trophy in the 2002–03 season, drawing one and losing three matches. In the 2003–04 season, they made an appearance in the PCB's inter-district tournament in Peshawar, where they registered their lone victory against Swabi, drew twice and lost two matches. They began playing in Asian regional tournaments in 2004, finishing sixth in their first ACC Trophy.

More success began in 2006 when they were runners-up to Bahrain in the Middle East Cup and beat an MCC team featuring former England captain Mike Gatting by 171 runs in Mumbai. Gatting was dismissed for a duck. They toured England in the summer of 2006, winning six out of seven matches.

Three of their wins came against the second XIs of Essex, Glamorgan and Leicestershire. They finished third in the ACC Trophy that year, beating Nepal in a play-off match. They won their first tournament in 2007, sharing the ACC Twenty20 Cup with Oman after the two tied in the final.

They began their qualifying campaign for the 2011 World Cup in Jersey in 2008, winning Division Five of the World Cricket League. They finished third in the ACC Trophy Elite tournament the same year, and won a second consecutive WCL tournament, Division Four in Tanzania later in the year. The Afghanistan national team was coached by former Pakistani cricketers Kabir Khan and Rashid Latif in its initial years.