Afghanistan, after losing first three of their matches in the ICC World Cup qualifiers, made a great comeback and went on to win five back-to-back matches including the final. After losing to Zimbabwe, Scotland, and Hong Kong, the Afghans came out of their shells and defeated a Test-playing team like West Indies twice.

Afghanistan received a warm welcome home after touching down in the Afghan capital on Tuesday for being the champions in the qualifier. Their skipper Asghar Stanikzai warned that his minnows were ready to cause some shocks in the upcoming World Cup showpiece in England next year.

"The other teams should understand that we are a strong and rising team," he said at a special ceremony where they received a standing ovation from an invitation-only crowd.

Afghanistan fans were not allowed to welcome their players back to Kabul due to security concerns. However, they flooded social media with congratulatory messages.

Leg-spin sensation Rashid Khan, who became the fastest to reach 100 ODI wickets in the West Indies match, said making the World Cup was a "dream". "The team we have right now and the talent we have, it's a world class team. We just need to believe in ourselves," Khan said.

Coming from a war-torn nation, Afghanistan have made a great deal of over the last decade. With the kind of spirit they exhibited, Afghanistan deserved to be the champions of the qualifiers. They defeated Bangladesh in Asia Cup 2014, and then clinched a victory over current T20 champions—West Indies in the very tournament where the Caribbean team eventually lifted the trophy.