Early Career
Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, Mangal spent much of his early years in refugee camps in neighbouring Pakistan with his family, fleeing from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent Civil War that followed the Soviet withdrawal. It was in the camps that Mangal, like many of his teammates, was introduced to cricket. The War in Afghanistan saw the US Army put an end to Taliban rule of Afghanistan in 2001 and soon after Mangal returned to the country. In the aftermath, the Afghanistan national cricket team was founded.
Mangal was spotted by then Afghanistan coach Taj Malik. Mangal’s father tried to stop him playing, citing the sport as not being a living. Malik went to the province of Khost on the Pakistani border to speak to with Mangal's family, telling him: "He will be great". Malik stayed the night pleading with him, and by the morning, convinced him to allow Mangal to play. Mangal made his debut for Afghanistan against Nowshehra in the 2001 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (Grade II). He made his international debut for Afghanistan against Oman in the 2004 ACC Trophy. During the tournament, Mangal was Afghanistan's leading run scorer with 271 runs. It was the first time the team participated in the competition and they progressed to the quarter-finals where they lost to Kuwait.
Read more about this topic: Nawroz Mangal
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