The Taliban Cricket Club

The Taliban Cricket Club is a novel by Indian author, filmmaker, and playwright Timeri N Murari, which is based in the Afghanistan set in 2000. This is when the Taliban regime had briefly permitted the formation of a national cricket team. The protagonist of this tale is Rukshana, a 24-year-old journalist who wrote secret articles critiquing the Taliban regime. She was selected to be the new wife of the slimy politician, Wahidi. The narrative follows her as she disguises herself as a man, and uses the cricketing skills she learnt during her university days in India. She trains a group of young boys, who will form a cricket team that will compete at the national level. This becomes the only means for Rukshana to escape her impending marriage to Wahidi, as the winners of the tournament are promised that they will be sent abroad for further coaching in cricket.This is a tale of ardent struggles against various forms of oppression and extreme violence, in the hope of freedom and happiness. This is the kind of happiness that comes, not from being in one�s homeland and living by the diktats of misogynist autocrats, but being at home in one�s skin, personality, and choice of profession, even in a foreign land. The Taliban Cricket Club was published by Aleph Book Company in 2013, and is available in paperback. Key Features: This book is about a girl�s courageous attempt to use sports, as a means to free herself from the dangers of the oppressive Taliban regime.

Categories: Fiction