Hamid Hassan used to play cricket 'secretly' without his reluctant parents' knowledge

Afghanistan paceman Hamid Hassan has revealed that he used to play cricket secretly, without his parents', who wanted him to devote more time to his studies, awareness about it, before he went on to represent his country in the World Cup.

Hassan, who has become a cult hero of the ongoing tournament, was forced to leave his hometown Jalalabad in order to escape the bombs and took refuge in Peshawar.

Recalling his childhood days, Hassan said that he spent 15-16 years there, studied in an Afghan high school and saw cricket first hand and fell in love with cricket.

Admitting that his parents wanted him to devote more time to his studies, Hassan said that they didn't allow him to play cricket so he hid playing cricket with his youngsters and mates, Stuff.co.nz reported.

However, his extreme passion for cricket eventually won his family over and subsequently they went on to encourage him to pursue his passion.

Hassan has so far claimed six wickets in three matches for Afghanistan in the ongoing sport's pinnacle tournament.