(CNN)He closes his eyes and the memories flood back. No clean water. No clothes. No shoes. With temperatures north of 45 degrees, his was a world about survival.
It is said that the darkest hour comes before the light shines. In the case of Afghanistan — a nation tied inextricably to conflict, out of the ashes of the Soviet-Afghan War and Taliban insurgency has risen a glorious phoenix of hope.
“Before cricket, everyone just knew Afghanistan because of war,” recalls Raees Ahmadzai, the former captain of the Afghan national cricket team, who spent his formative years in the refugee camps of Peshawar, Pakistan.
