From pioneers like Hamid Hassan and Mohammad Nabi to global stars like Rashid Khan and mystery spinners like Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Afghan cricket has left its mark on the world. Yet one stage remained silent, the commentary box.
Victories were heard through foreign voices until now. Ahmad Farhad Fidai, armed with a medical degree but driven by cricket, has stepped in to give Afghanistan its own voice.
In this Asia Cup, he became the first Afghan commentator, not just narrating the game but becoming the voice of Afghanistan. In an exclusive interview with ‘The Times of Bangladesh’, he shared the journey, struggles, and dreams that brought him here. Here are the excerpts.
Ahmad, you’re a medical graduate and now the first Afghan to commentate in the Asia Cup, how did this journey begin?
My journey began back in 2000. I graduated from medical university in Afghanistan in 2007, but commentary was my passion. Seeing no Afghan commentators at ICC or ACC events left a void that pushed me to try. It wasn’t easy. I had to reach out to many people to get through the Afghanistan Cricket Board. I started with short internships in 2018 and 2019 at the Shpageeza Cricket League, then got a full break in 2020 to do domestic T20 commentary. By 2022, I began my international commentary career, and it’s been an incredible journey since.
Was there a defining moment when you realized cricket commentary could be your path, even with a medical degree?
The biggest factor was always the void. The biggest factor always has been why there isn’t any Afghan commentator. That has been the force, that has been the factor that has kind of pushed me to become one.
Have you ever heard someone’s voice and instantly thought, “I want to be like him”?
If you ask about who among the commentators have been the ones I have listened to for a very long time, it has been Ravi Shastri that will be at the top of the table, alongside Rameez Raja and Harsha Bhogle So, these are the ones who I listen to more.
I used to watch Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka matches more than the other matches. Like, I haven’t seen a lot of South Africa, Australia, England and those sorts of matches. But I have actually seen more of Pakistan playing against these neighbours.
You’d hear more of commentators like Ravi Shastri, Harsha Bhogle, Rameez Raja, and Athar Ali Khan. If there had been other Afghan commentators, I might not have stepped forward. But since there was no one representing Afghanistan at ACC and ICC events, I decided to take the leap
How has your family and community reacted to this unconventional career choice?
The interesting thing is my father, who passed away a few years ago, may his soul rest in peace. He only wanted the medical degree for me.He didn’t want the practice for me. He said, “you bring the degree home, I’m done with you.”
And when I brought my degree home and I said, “this is my degree, I’m a medical graduate.”
My dad said, “you’re good. Next thing you do, I will be there for you”
So it wasn’t that hard to make it to the comm box from your family…
Right! Becoming a commentator was not that much of a difficult thing to convince my family. But I have to admit that because I have traveled a lot, adding extra travel time as a commentator has not been very easy for my family, especially my wife and children. But they have been very accommodating.
Luckily, they are so supportive throughout my traveling life. My wife, children and my family have just stood by me. So in the end, I’m very, very lucky.
How important is it to follow your passion even if it’s very different from your academic training?
My father was a gynecologist. I would have become one, maybe. But my father lived the life he wanted. I was so blessed that I could choose my path too.
But then I graduated in 2007 and I came to the commentary in 2020. So there is this 13 years in between. So I was already doing other entrepreneurial work. I had a translation company. I used to provide interpretation services. I used to do that at the global level. I traveled five continents before traveling as a commentator.
And I traveled all the way to the US, to Europe, to so many countries in Asia. So by count, I have traveled to 120 countries, 120 times. By count, 120 times before internationally traveling to my commentary stint.
I read an article recently that mentioned you were excited to meet Mr. Sunil Gavaskar. Did you get a chance to commentate alongside him?
Unfortunately, I did not have a stint with him, but I did share the whole game with him. It was the Afghanistan vs match. Sunil Gavaskar was also there alongside Ravi Shastri and five-six other commentators.
However, I had a chance to sit and talk with him. Mr. Gavaskar is a very knowledgeable person. He’s a very kind person. I had a great chat with him. And my journey as a commentator has always been like that.I keep asking questions, I keep learning from them. So it was just another learning experience for me.
Can you describe the feeling of commentating as the first Afghan live for the first time in a major tournament like the Asia Cup…
Look, it’s a great feeling when you represent your country. It is a blessing when you get a chance in any way or form to be able to represent your country.
And then if you get that chance to do it from the commentary box, where you have a voice, where you can reflect the emotions, I think it’s a big blessing.
You have been to Bangladesh in 2023, How was your experience there?
Yeah, I was in Bangladesh in 2023. I did the whole series where we had a test match one day in the T20s. So Athar bhai (Athar Ali Khan) told me a thing and he said, “we should count ourselves so blessed because in the industry of commentary, there might be only hundreds of people. And among the hundreds, you’re one of them.”
So it’s such a big blessing when you get a chance to be in such a small family of commentators, where you get a chance to project and talk about your emotions. So that being said, it is a great blessing. It is always an amazing feeling to sit at the commentary box and to present the feelings of your country and the players.
What’s the most special part for you about doing commentary?
I don’t know if I will have enough words to explain how amazing a feeling it is every time I sit at the commentary box, and every time I have the opportunity to bring my voice to the ears of people sitting in their dining rooms and listening to the cricket.
As the first Afghan international commentator, what challenges do you face, and how do you get through them?
When I started my journey as a commentator, it wasn’t easy. One of the toughest times was trying to get access to the Afghanistan Cricket Board. I once waited five hours to meet the chairman, only to be told to wait more, and eventually had to leave. Later, a new chairman came, but I still couldn’t meet him at a big conference because he was too busy. Looking back, it seems easy, but at the time, it was frustrating and challenging.
What challenges or setbacks have made you question if commentary was the right path for you?
During a tough match, I felt my commentary was below par and doubted if I was made for this. But my friends encouraged me, reminding me I was doing well. I tend to be very self-critical, and that’s been one of my biggest challenges.
As you don’t have any cricketing background, Do you think not being a cricketer affects how you’re treated in the commentary team?
Sometimes it’s a little bit difficult getting along with certain crew members. Certain crew members. Because you want it or not… If you don’t have that tag of ex-player, you don’t always get the same respect as ex-players who become commentators. Even though I’ve played a lot and still play cricket, not having the national cricket tag means we’re sometimes treated unfairly. But I don’t hold grudges, I just let it flow and trust the process.
What’s the commentating scenario back in Afghanistan?
In Afghanistan, domestic cricket commentary is done in Pashto and Dari, and there are some really talented commentators who bring great emotion to the game. We also have English commentators, but for international matches, a truly refined Afghan voice is still missing. I hope more Afghan commentators get that opportunity, but so far, the board hasn’t found anyone yet.
Have you seen anyone with potential? Someone who wants to do commentary on a big stage like you?
In previous Afghanistan bilateral series, a few Afghan commentators have had a go, Hamid Hassan, Noman Mirza, Hakeem Ahmadzai, and sometimes active fast bowler Yameen Ahmadzai. Still, there’s strong passion back home, with many people sending me their videos to try commentary by asking how they can for instance make it all the way to the ACB.
Has the Afghanistan Cricket Board taken any initiatives to develop more commentators
Luckily the Afghanistan Cricket Board is providing them the platform. Which at my time was not very easy to access. Now there are so many domestic matches that are being played. And they are being televised.
So the fact that they are being televised. There is an opportunity for people to come and sit and do the commentary. So a lot of those young Afghans do commentary on the Afghanistan domestic matches. Which is a good opportunity for them. And besides that we also have commentary in our local languages.
Did the ACB hold any training for aspiring commentators?
Over the past two years, the Afghanistan Cricket Board has taken steps to train local commentators during the Shpageeza Cricket League. In 2024, the session was led by Sri Lankan presenter and commentator Roshan Abeysinghe.
In 2025, Farvez Maharoof, who was also part of the Spaghizza commentary team, conducted the training alongside me, Tevinder Kumar, and Suhas Vedam. These sessions provided local commentators with guidance and hands-on experience to develop their skills.
You’ve come a long way, and as the only Afghan on such a big stage, would it be fair to call you Afghanistan’s flagbearer in the commentary box?
I think you can, thank you so much for that. Many people now tell me, “Farhad, you’ve made it! Tell us how we can do it.” I share what I’ve followed and the guidance I can offer, but ultimately, it’s up to them to show up, try, and find their own way through.
