Afghanistan batsman Asghar Stanikzai plays a shot against Scotland during the ICC World Twenty20 2016 cricket tournament at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, India, Tuesday, March 8, 2016. Photo: AP

BENGALURU: When Afghanistan plays its inaugural cricket test match against top-ranked India starting Thursday, it’s an event that has been 17 years in the making.

Afghanistan was made an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) back in 2001, at a time when it was the only sport that was approved by the oppressive Taliban regime. But after 9/11, even cricket became just an afterthought as the country spiraled into war.

Yet the game survived somehow among the Afghan people, who continued living in refugee camps lining the border to cricket-loving Pakistan. And it led to the rise of players like national-team captain Asghar Stanikzai, all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad and pacer Shapoor Zadran.

All of them learned to play in the dusty outskirts of Peshawar, the home in exile of Afghan cricket, and are now preparing to step into the limelight of a five-day test match for the first time. Such matches can only be played between countries who have been given test status by the ICC, with Afghanistan set to become only the 12th official test nation.

“It’s a great moment for us as we embark on our test journey. To be playing our first test against India is a great honor and we hope to give a good account of ourselves,” Stanikzai said. “To be competing against the best on the test rankings table is something to be proud of and we will try to do our best in whatever chances we get and exhibit the skills the players possess individually as well as collectively as a team.”

In the past year or so, Afghanistan’s reputation has grown as they played at Lord’s in London against an MCC XI led by Brendon McCullum, drew an ODI series in West Indies, beat Ireland and Zimbabwe away, and then came back from the brink to win the ICC 2019 ODI World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. Consequentially, an increasing number of Afghan cricketers have gained prominence.

Among their biggest stars is Rashid Khan, the 19-year-old leg-spin bowler who is one of the world’s most sought-after players in the shorter Twenty20 form of the game.

Born in Nangahar in eastern Afghanistan in 1998, Khan’s family moved to Pakistan to escape the war and then returned to Jalalabad a few years later. Back in his home country, Khan continued to sharpen his bowling and advanced to represent Afghanistan on the international stage in a one-day international in October 2015, a month after his 17th birthday.

Nicknamed the “Afghan Afridi” for his wicket-taking celebration mirroring those of Pakistan’s mercurial all-rounder Shahid Afridi, Khan has taken world cricket by storm with successes in major T20 competitions like the Indian Premier League, the Caribbean Premier League and the Big Bash in Australia. Khan was named the 2017 ICC Associate Cricketer of the Year, and now can’t wait to move to test cricket.

“There is immense happiness back home (regarding the rise of Afghan cricket). Our players are doing well in the IPL and everywhere across the world. It shows the Afghanistan cricket team is slowly rising through the ranks,” Khan told The Associated Press in an interview last year. “Ultimately, the goal is to play test cricket. Maybe, I will get to play Afghanistan’s first-ever test. Hopefully that day isn’t far away.”

In fact it arrives this week.

Jun 2, 2018; Dublin, OH, USA; Tiger Woods tees off on the eighteenth hole during the third round of The Memorial golf tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

SOUTHAMPTON: Tiger Woods returned to the US Open for the first time in three years and hardly anyone noticed.

Then again, it was late Sunday afternoon. Shinnecock Hills was practically empty.

“A bizarre experience,” said Jordan Spieth, who played nine holes with him.

Such a quiet moment was rare for Woods in his celebrated return following four back surgeries. A year that began with intrigue soon gave way to hysteria over anticipation of his first victory in nearly five years.

That time has not arrived as Woods heads into the second major of the year.

“Golf is always frustrating,” Woods said Tuesday after going nine holes with Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, winners of the last two PGA Tour events. “There’s always something that isn’t quite right, and that’s where we as players have to make adjustments.

You’ve seen the tournaments I’ve played this year. There’s always something. Hopefully, this is one of those weeks where I put it all together and even it out. And we’ll see what happens.”

It has been 10 years since Woods won his last US Open, his 14th and last major. All it takes for him to temper any frustrations is to look back at last year, when he didn’t know if he would even play another US Open.

He was at a low point in his career and his personal life. While recovering from fusion surgery — his fourth surgery on his back in three years — he was arrested on a DUI charge and found to have a mixture of two painkillers, the sleeping aid Ambien, the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and the active ingredient for marijuana in his system. He entered a clinic to get help and pleaded guilty to a reckless driving charge that kept him out of jail.

Asked about the video of his arrest and how his life has changed, Woods replied, “It’s gotten better.”

That seems like longer than a year ago because Woods has been such an active part of the PGA Tour again. In some instances, he looks like the same Woods.

He hit one drive past Johnson on the par-5 fifth hole Tuesday that left him a 2-iron to the front of the green. He had two chances to win in March, missing a long birdie putt on the last hole in Innisbrook and hitting a drive out-of-bounds on the 16th hole at Bay Hill the following week.

But no trophies. No fist pumps.

“There’s two ways of looking at that,” Woods said. “I’ve given myself chances to win, which I didn’t know if I was ever going to do again. And then again, not happy with the fact that I didn’t win because I loved how it felt being there. … And so, yeah, I’ve had my opportunities. Also, I’m very thankful to have had those opportunities. I didn’t know if I was going to have them again.”

What kind of opportunities will Shinnecock Hills offer?

Tuesday was the busiest day of practice under a clear sky, warm weather and a course that just about everyone is raving about.

Woods played nine holes in the afternoon Sunday and Monday — a change from the days when he would sweep the dew off the grass first thing in the morning — and nine holes Tuesday morning.

And while the crowd was relatively sparse for his morning round, there is no mistaking when Woods is around.

Jason Day was on the putting green when only a few people were around. And then suddenly, there was a gathering.

“He rolls up and there’s 30 guys on the putting green, and it was hard to do your work,” Day said. “But that’s just the Tiger effect, and everyone wants to see him. Everyone wants to see what he looks like and how big he is or just see, I guess, the myth behind Tiger Woods. … It is definitely bigger, always bigger when he’s in contention on Sundays. And if he’s in contention this Sunday, then it’s going to be huge.”

Woods last played in the US Open in 2015 at Chambers Bay. He was coming off the highest score of his career, an 85 in the third round at the Memorial, and never stood a chance on the course built over a former gravel pit.

He shot rounds of 80-76 and was gone by the weekend, and before long, he was gone from golf with the first of his back surgeries.

Three years from his last US Open, five years from his last victory, and so much has changed.

Johnson returned to No. 1 in the world with his six-shot victory last week at the St. Jude Classic, the 18th of his career, all since Woods won his last US Open. He replaced Justin Thomas, the PGA champion who turned 25 in April.

Woods will play with both of them when the first round begins on Thursday.

“I can see that there may be a sense of … this is the last kind of push that he needs for his career,” Day said. “But at the same time, I know that he’s still hungry.

I think he’s hungry for that next win and trying to get — not the monkey off his back, because he’s done it so many times — but just coming back and competing and playing well against our generation now. And I think that’s what he’s looking forward to.”

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah injures his shoulder in a challenge with Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos. Photo: Reuters

YEKATERINBURG: The emphasis on the team returning to the World Cup after 28 years has given way to attention on an individual player ahead of Egypt’s World Cup opener against Uruguay.

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah is expected to recover from a shoulder injury he sustained in the Champions League final in time to play at least some part of Egypt’s World Cup campaign.

But will he be fit to play Friday’s opening game on the day he turns 26? Millions of Egyptians are anxious to know, and the intense interest isn’t restricted to Egypt.

The presence of the country’s national hero is a key factor for his team’s chances against Uruguay, and perhaps advancing from the group stage for the first time.

Uruguay’s World Cup experience and the depth of the squad make the South American team a favorite for the game and in Group A, which also host Russia and Saudi Arabia. The Russians meet the Saudi’s in Thursday’s tournament opener.

SALAH’S INFLUENCE

Salah is a player who inspires and delivers for both his club and country. He scored 44 goals in all competitions in his debut season for Liverpool and became the leading scorer in the Premier League. His goals fired Egypt to the World Cup for the first time since 1990, earning Salah the deep gratitude of his nation and respect from rivals.

Salah scored five of Egypt’s eight goals in the last round of Africa qualifying, including one from the spot in injury time against Congo that secured a spot in Russia with a game to spare. Without him, Egypt was struggling to find the back of the net in warmup games against Colombia (0-0) and Belgium (3-0).

Salah showed clear signs of progress in his recovery Tuesday, dribbling the ball around the pitch and running at pace after working on his shoulder with a physiotherapist on the sidelines.

“We are here after 28 years. We are happy about that, but every one of us has big ambitions and hopes,” Salah told reporters in Grozny.

ONE FOR THE AGES

Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary may very well make history on Friday, when he’s hoping to become the oldest player ever to play in a World Cup. But the 45-year-old El Hadary’s spot is far from sure.

He’s vying for selection with Sherif Ekramy and Mohamed Elshenawy in what team officials say is a “heated but healthy and decent ” competition to be top choice.

Egypts defense, anchored by West Bromwich defenders Ahmed Hegazi and Ali Gabr, will be seriously tested by Uruguay’s strike duo of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez.

URUGAYAN ATTACK

Cavani was in great shape for Paris Saint-Germain with 40 goals during the season and also had a tournament-leading 10 goals in South American qualifying — three more than the likes of Lionel Messi and Gabriel Jesus.

He has 42 goals for Uruguay and poses a significant threat to the Egyptian defense.

Suarez is also poised to perform on the sport’s biggest stage, aiming to make a mark for his attacking prowess. At the 2010 World Cup, he was part of the squad that placed fourth but he was mostly remembered for his red card for handling a goal-bound header by Ghana’s Dominic Adiyiah.

Four years later, Suarez was expelled from the tournament in Brazil for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. Uruguay subsequently lost to Colombia in the round of 16.

EL MAESTRO’S MILESTONE

Coach Oscar Tabarez leads two-time champion Uruguay into his fourth World Cup, and third in a row. He was in charge in 1990 and again in 2010 and 2014. Tabarez’s teams have always made it out of the group stage, including a semifinal appearance in South Africa in 2010. Nicknamed “El Maestro” (The Teacher), Tabarez brought the much needed discipline to Uruguay teams.

Cars drive past a logo in front of FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland June 8, 2016. Photo: Reuters

MOSCOW: FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday he will run for re-election as head of soccer’s global governing body.

Speaking at the FIFA Congress in Moscow on the eve of the World Cup, the Swiss-Italian said he would present his candidacy for elections taking place in Paris in June 2019.

Infantino was elected to the post in February 2016.

“I want another four years of it because I believe in what I do,” Infantino said after the congress. “I believe in what I can do for FIFA and for football.”

Infantino said his tenure had seen a significant improvement in the organisation’s finances.

“I feel as well a lot of support from many around the world who want to see a strong FIFA, who want to see a FIFA who is present, a FIFA who is helping to address their issues about football development,” he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, the congress voted to grant the 2026 World Cup to a joint bit by Canada, the United States and Mexico. Morocco lost the bidding process for a fifth time.

The 2026 event will be the first expanded tournament featuring 48 teams, up from the current 32-team tournament, which begins on Thursday.

Russia is hosting this year’s tournament from June 14 to July 15 in 11 cities including Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi.